Contradictions in Sworn Statements

Finding past depositions can be extraordinarily helpful in getting to know a businessperson. There's nothing like reading the transcript of a person's sworn answers to pointed questions to see how he responds to pressure.

And past testimony can, of course, contradict a person's current statements. This was invaluable in one case in which our client, a brokerage firm, was accused of fleecing an investor who claimed to be a financial novice. A deposition taken by the SEC a decade earlier showed that the investor was not only highly sophisticated, but also had been the subject of past investigations regarding stock manipulation.