The 30(b)(6) Deposition: Sword and Shield

Few discovery tools are as powerful, or as underused, as the corporate designee deposition under C.R.C.P. 30(b)(6) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6).
When you notice a corporation, you do not depose a random witness. You depose the entity itself. The corporation must designate one or more persons to testify on the topics you identify, and those designees must speak for the company on matters known or reasonably available to it. The testimony binds the entity.

That binding effect is what makes the deposition a sword. A well-drafted notice forces your opponent to commit to a position on the facts, on the timeline, on what the company knew and when. The corporation cannot send an unprepared witness, plead ignorance, and then produce a better-informed witness at trial. Lock in the answer now, and you constrain the story later.

It is also a shield. When you defend the deposition, careful preparation protects your client. An unprepared designee can saddle the company with damaging admissions or expose it to sanctions for failing to produce a knowledgeable witness. Diligent preparation: reviewing documents, interviewing personnel, and educating the designee on each noticed topic is not optional. It is the witness's duty and counsel's obligation.

Two principles drive results on both sides:

1. The notice controls. Draft topics with precision. Topics that are overbroad or vague invite objection; topics that are sharp and well-supported force real answers.

2. Preparation is everything. Whether taking or defending, the designee's command of the noticed topics determines the outcome.

Used well, the 30(b)(6) deposition shapes the record before trial. Used carelessly, it hands the advantage to the other side.