This is Part 4 of a four-part series on calling the judge during a deposition. Read Part 1 here The first thirty minutes of a 30(b)(6) deposition are a contest. Defense counsel knows it. Aggressive defense lawyers will use the opening of the deposition to establish dominance — making repeated speaking objections, coaching the witness, blocking inquiry into the witness’s […]
Shutting Down Speaking Objections in a 30(b)(6) Deposition
How a Judge Call Got Us Comparator Discovery Without a Motion to Compel
This is Part 3 of a four-part series on calling the judge during a deposition. Read Part 1 here Comparator evidence is one of the most powerful tools a plaintiff has in an employment discrimination case. If you can show that the defendant treated similarly situated employees outside the protected class more favorably than your client, you have circumstantial evidence […]
“Instructions Not to Answer” Require Privilege – Not Inconvenience
This is Part 2 of a four-part series on calling the judge during a deposition. Read Part 1 here In a federal employment discrimination case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, I was deposing a defense witness. The witness had been deposed twice before in a separate matter involving a different plaintiff but the same defendant and overlapping facts. My […]
When to Call the Judge During a Deposition: A Plaintiff’s Lawyer’s Playbook
Most plaintiff-side lawyers I talk to are reluctant to call the judge during a deposition. The reluctance is understandable — nobody wants to look like a complainer in front of the bench, and most of us were trained to “preserve it for the record” and fight it out later on a motion to compel. That training is wrong. Or at […]
How to Prove Retaliation in the Workplace
Proving workplace retaliation means connecting protected activity with a prohibited adverse response through evidence—not just showing that one happened after the other. The useful records establish what you did, who knew about it, what changed and why the employer says it acted. The precise legal standard depends on the claim and law involved. Document the protected activity accurately Keep the […]
She Was Fired Four Months Into Cancer Treatment. They Called It Restructuring.
Maria spent nine years as an operations manager at a regional distribution company. She trained half the floor supervisors. Her reviews said things like “the person this facility runs on.” She had never been written up. Then, on a Tuesday in March, her doctor told her she had breast cancer. She told her manager the next morning. He was kind […]
HR Offered Not to Fight Her Unemployment. That Should Have Been Her First Clue.
Tasha had been a front desk shift lead at a hotel for seven years. She trained every new hire. She worked the holidays nobody else wanted. Her schedule, Monday through Friday days, was the one thing that made childcare work for her two kids. Last spring, a new general manager started making comments about her body. At the front desk. […]
She Reported Unequal Pay. Six Weeks Later, She Had a “Communication Problem.”
Denise had been a project manager at a regional engineering firm for eleven years. She ran the firm’s largest municipal account. Clients asked for her by name. Her last review called her “the steadiest hand on the team.” In February, a coworker left a salary spreadsheet on a shared drive by mistake. Denise saw that a male project manager hired […]
How Long Does a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Take?
A wrongful termination case does not have one reliable completion timeline. Its duration depends on the legal claim, any required agency process, the evidence, court scheduling and whether the parties settle. First determine whether the dismissal may have been unlawful: an unfair termination is not automatically a wrongful termination claim. Identify the claim and required first steps A dismissal may […]
Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable in Pennsylvania or New Jersey?
A non-compete agreement may be enforceable in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, but signing one does not make every restriction valid. The agreement, the applicable state’s law and the employment circumstances must be reviewed together. The FTC’s nationwide non-compete rule is not in effect, so employees should not assume that it automatically cancels their agreement. Read the restrictions separately A non-compete […]