Cross-Examining Plaintiffs in Employment Harassment and Discrimination Cases: Strategies for Depositions and Trials
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will provide employment trial lawyers with the tools to handle the challenging task of cross-examining a plaintiff/victim claiming harassment or discrimination. The plaintiff/alleged victim's deposition is typically the pivotal testimonial event in the case. Trial counsel is often stuck between a rock and a hard place: push aggressively and the plaintiff/victim may garner sympathy, hold back too much and the defense suffers.
Outline
- Differences between deposition cross and trial cross
- Witness preparation
- Information gathering
- Legal research
- Deposition conduct
- Learning the plaintiff's case
- Getting admissions
- Setting up impeachment
- Trial issues
- Know the answer to every question before asking
- Lines of attack
- Discrediting plaintiff testimony without fostering backlash sympathy
Benefits
The panel will review these and other critical issues:
- Whether to make deposition or trial the venue for the plaintiff's cross-examination
- Substantive preparation and planning for the plaintiff's deposition
- Strategies for fortifying the plaintiff's case during his or her deposition
- Strategies for discrediting the plaintiff without provoking anger at the defendant(s)
Faculty
Megan Cooney
Partner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Ms. Cooney’s practice focuses on employment and class action litigation. She has represented employers in class... | Read More
Ms. Cooney’s practice focuses on employment and class action litigation. She has represented employers in class actions, collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, representative actions under the California Private Attorneys General Act, and individual actions in state and federal court alleging wage and hour violations, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful denial of benefits, harassment, and employment misclassification. Ms. Cooney also has extensive experience advising employers regarding personnel policies, employee handbooks, job classification, termination issues, and other employment-related matters. She also represents clients in connection with workplace investigations and compliance audits. Ms. Cooney has represented clients in a wide variety of industries, including technology, finance, healthcare, retail, industrial services, manufacturing, entertainment, and transportation.
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Stephen E. Fox
Partner
Sheppard Mullin
Mr. Fox leads Sheppard Mullin’s Texas employment law practice. Consistently recognized by peers and clients as a... | Read More
Mr. Fox leads Sheppard Mullin’s Texas employment law practice. Consistently recognized by peers and clients as a “go-to” courtroom advocate, he has been inducted as a Fellow into the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and routinely selected by his peers as one of the Top 100 attorneys in Texas. In 2020, Mr. Fox was selected by Best Lawyers as a Lawyer of the Year in the field of labor/employment litigation, and is one of less than 50 “Hall of Fame” Lawyers selected by D Magazine. He graduated from the University of Virginia’s School of Law and obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Fox's litigation and counseling practice is centered around labor/employment and complex business disputes. His business litigation experience includes trying cases involving trade secret theft, restrictive covenant enforcement, breaches of contract and fiduciary duties, business torts (fraud, unfair competition, defamation), and corporate espionage. In the area of labor/employment law, Mr. Fox has significant experience in defending wage and hour class actions, including claims for off-the-clock work, overtime pay, and meal and rest period violations. He has also tried cases involving claims of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, and other classifications, leaves of absence (ADA, FMLA), corporate downsizing, and non-competition violations.
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