employment discrimination
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employment discrimination
I am the plaintiff in a federal court suit against my former employer, but have not been able to obtain legal counsel. The attorneys for the defendant have scheduled a deposition for me even though they have copies of my statements in complaint form through the EEOC and Federal court. Do I have to submit to the deposition without an attorney to represent me ?
Asked on June 23, 2009 under Employment Labor Law, Indiana
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
Absolutely. If you are representing yourself, you will have to continue to represent yourself at the deposition. You might be able to get the deposition put off, once, by calling the defendant's lawyers to reschedule, if you think you might be able to get an attorney in the meantime.
If you have to do this on your own, prepare: make sure that you have your prior statements all but memorized, because the defendant's lawyers will be looking for any inconsistency between them and your deposition testimony, to attack your credibility. When you're asked a question, listen to it carefully, take a moment to think before you answer -- don't be baited into getting angry or frustrated or tired or impatient and blurt out something, because you don't usually get to take anything back once you've said it. Most of the time, it's best to simply answer exactly the question that's asked, and no more, without volunteering information or trying to "explain."
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