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As a lawyer I can confirm, but there's nothing inherently right-wing or left-wing about any of it. I have a deposition tomorrow where I'm going to ask some poor retiree about 500 questions, the vast majority of which I know he doesn't know the answer to and that he knows I couldn't possibly think he knows the answer to. I'm going to ask him for specific details about pieces of insustrial machinery he says he worked with in the 1970s. For instance, if he brings up a particular brand of industrial compressor I'm going to ask him when the first time he saw the brand was, how he was able to identify the brand, when the last time he saw it was, how many of that brand were in the facility, what each one he remembered specificly did, if he associated it with any particular color, detailed description of what it looked like, how it worked, what it was used for. And if he has the misfortune of actually being able to answer any of these questions in the affirmative then it will only lead to more questions pushing for more specifics. But I need to do this because whenever I go into negotiations with opposing counsel I can't just assume he doesn't know all of this (it's good for my client that he doesn't know), because if I do opposing counsel will ask to see where on the record it is that he says he doesn't know and now I don't have as much negotiating power. Every detail matters, every term must be defined, every hair must be split. If I don't do all that it's a disservice to my client.
Why would you do this thing?
It's asbestos litigation. If he's claiming his mesothelioma was caused in part by exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets my client used in its compressor, I want to distance him from my client's products as much as possible. Chances are, all he remembers is the name, and if that's the case then I can get a much better settlement than if he was a millwright who remembers specific instances of tearing the compressor apart to change the gaskets and kicking up asbestos dust. I already know that my client had some products in the mill, so there's going to be liability, but if I can demonstrate to opposing counsel that the guy can't tell me jack shit about anything specific it's less likely that a jury will find my client liable and more likely that the plaintiff will settle for a lower amount. But to do that I need to ask a ton of questions to actually show that the guy knows jack shit, especially considering that he might not survive until trial and the deposition will be the only testimony the jury sees. If all they see is him naming the product then it's lights out for my client.
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