Anthony Argiropoulos and Maximilian D. Cadmus, attorneys in the Litigation & Business Disputes practice, in the firm’s Princeton office, co-authored an article in Law360, titled “Attorneys Today Need to Depose Like There's No Tomorrow.” (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full version in PDF format):
Breathless headlines warn of the "Great Resignation" or a "resignation apocalypse" that will soon empty cubicles all around the nation.
Exaggerated as these reports may be, there is a kernel of truth to these warnings about droves of people leaving the workforce, and they should affect the way lawyers and their clients view depositions.
For decades, the median number of years that a salaried employee stayed with a single employer remained relatively stable at about four years. But this number is expected to decline in the years ahead.
Millennials have been called the "job-hopping generation" because they display significantly higher willingness to switch careers than members of previous generations. By some accounts, employees belonging to Generation Z are even less inclined to stay in one place for long.
As older workers retire, these demographic groups will represent an increasing share of the workplace. Further, the growth of the gig economy and rise of remote work can only further disrupt traditional long-term employment.
What does all this mean for depositions? There is a significant chance that an employee who has crucial testimony for your case might not be around anymore when your case finally goes to trial.
In fact, according to the latest available statistics from the federal judiciary, it takes approximately 28 months for a civil case to begin trial. As of June 2021, 11% of cases in federal court were over three years old. Based on statistics alone, your client and opponent will see some significant employee turnover in that time.
Now that you know about this risk, you need to take steps to protect your client and your case from it. To minimize the risk of losing crucial witnesses, consider the following lessons.
