Robert Musante's CLE Seminars |
| Comments from Portland area attorneys who attended "Great! Adverse Depositions: Principles and Principal Techniques" and/or "The 25 Credibility Arguments for Deposition and Trial "  Return to Home Page
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"Great! Adverse Depositions: Principles and Principal Techniques" Very solid and insightful. Great in terms of detail. Musante is an excellent
speaker, approachable, with well done materials. I particularly agree
that lawyers dabble too much in "discovery" depositions. The
deposition is the trial, and is the tool I use to get what I want at trial/hearing.
I will now write out some more questions to make sure I get more universal
questions that reduce escapability. Eye-opening; logical. Best I have taken. Practical content: A. Instructor: A. Compared to other seminars: A. Entertaining, fast-paced, thought provoking. Very practical. Seminar included information I can use in every deposition. Musante is
entertaining and attention-grabbing! This is the best seminar that I have ever attended, and I have been to
several seminars that were quite good. Musante's style was animated and
riveting. I am an in-house intellectual property attorney and have been
for 16 years. I am currently involved in patent litigation and need education
on depositions ... this seminar provided a wealth of information for me. Excellent! Great concepts that attorneys taking depositions should put
into practice for every deposition. Musante is also excellent ... great
hypos, covers main points multiple times from multiple perspectives to
ensure understanding. Way more interesting and engaging than other full-day
litigation seminars. Down to earth, useful information. I usually have a hard time staying
awake by the afternoon, but not with this guy! Wish I had had him as a
professor in law school. Best one-day CLE I have been to. Very interesting and practical. Excellent practical content; excellent instructor. Top-level compared
to others. Well above average. Useful and thoughtful. Musante is excellent. Better than most; extremely provocative. Very practical. It will dramatically
improve the quality of my adverse depositions if I follow up on the study
and preparation. One of the best. Excellent practical content; excellent instructor. Challenging, lively and interesting. Up there with Pozner & Dowd. One of the best, if not the best, that I've been to. Excellent! Very captivating. Top seminar/top analysis. Excellent practical content. Musante is informative and educational.
A lot more comprehensive in its information and techniques than most other
seminars I've been to. This seminar was by far superior to other deposition seminars I have
attended. Practical content was A+. Robert Musante provides entertaining
examples to demonstrate salient practice points; his teaching ability
was extremely effective. Best deposition seminar I've ever attended by far. Awesome practical
content. Musante was perfect! I finally have a discipline to address "I
don't know" and "I don't remember." At the top of trial related CLEs because it focuses on rules that can
be used in any case, rather than on fact-specific war stories. Practical
solutions to common problems effectively and passionately communicated.
[Musante] clearly has a passion for his subject. Excellent. Good visuals and expressive skills. Musante presented usable
concepts for litigation rather than the usual review of case law applicable
to a particular subject. These are practical concepts to use in depositions
for trial prep and trial. I will have to digest these rules, but I now
have some new ideas. You can pay for the whole seat but you'll only need the edge!! First rate! Musante is thorough and animated. Every little bit helps,
and the "bits" were major, not trivial. A+ for practical content. A+ for instructor. Vastly superior to others
... no comparison. This will be a valuable tool for me for my next 18 years! Very practical.
I take or defend about 100-150 depos a year and this has put a logical
framework on what I have done by rote or instinct. This will improve my
technique. Most diverse use of powerpoint I've ever seen. As a new lawyer, I take all the litigation CLEs I can get my hands on,
and this one definitely gave me the most bang for my buck! The lectures
and video clips and materials were fine; Musante was very good, captivating
and simplistic. Much better practical advice than other CLEs. Practical content excellent.
Musante is excellent. Excellent practical content. I have taken many full-day seminars and
this is one of the best. I now realize I could have been taking better
depositions. I found this seminar much more useful than others due to its practical
use and helpful outline of material. Very practical. It has helped by
giving me a much better sense of methods through which I can commit deponents.
Helped by dispelling many myths of depositions which were tripping me
up prior to this seminar. [Musante] clear and logical. Also entertaining.
I am one of the attorneys who followed [Stupid Orthodoxy rules] blindly.
Today's [depo] rules give a better sense of purpose for depos. Very informative and useful in everyday practice as a litigator. Musante
is excellent -- I like his passion. The cross-examination of an adverse
witness takes more thought than I had been taught; this will vastly improve
the quality of my adverse depositions. Musante is great. His rules are more complex and thoughtful than those
I've used. I now have a better understanding of boxing in testimony and
no fear of focused insistence on answers. I found this seminar to be well presented and probably more practical
than most CLEs I've taken. Extremely practical and useful. Excellent teaching
abilities, interesting, understandable and humorous. Excellent practical content; excellent instructor. Among the best of
seminars; reminds me of Herb Stern's seminar on "Trying Cases To
Win." I think my depositions will substantially improve. Among the best. Musante's rules are similar to mine in some respects,
but generally different (&, I'm convinced) far more effective. Should
improve the quality of my depositions tremendously. Much better than all others. Very helpful to the long-time practitioner,
which is rare. Musante is excellent; could wake the dead. My depo prep
will now take longer, which is good. Interesting, clear, well-organized presentation. As a relatively new
attorney, Mr. Musante's insights into the adverse deposition process were
enlightening. His rules are more focused; much more thought than I've
had the insight to do. My preparation will be different now; I will respond
differently to deponent's answers. Wonderful ... made me really reconsider my standard practices. Best I've ever attended. Very practical; learned much! Hopefully my skill
will improve and then improve again and again. This is the best CLE I have attended. More new information was provided
than I could absorb. Dynamic speaker -- keeps your attention -- good repetition
of key points. Solidified vague knowledge that has been floating around
in my head. [This seminar's depo rules] very different -- more assertive
and aggressive. Good seminar! Good value. I've paid more for less valuable seminars.
Outstanding practical content. Good, engaging speaker. Excellent. Best I've ever taken. [Practical content] Excellent. 2 days
would even be okay. Well prepared, focused and good framework. 80% has immediate practical
impact. Musante is very good. Good CLE compared to others. Good practical content. Musante used visual
aids well and was not monotonous. Very practical and meaningful regarding nuts and bolts. [This seminar's
depo rules] more comprehensive and structured than mine. Very practical reminder that I unfortunately let myself get "too
busy" to adequately prepare/take the depositions. Gets me thinking
outside the box -- I've too often looked only for the battleships and
haven't challenged the witness often enough One of the better CLEs I've taken. Very practical. I can't wait to use
these techniques in my next deposition. I appreciate the humor and energy
in Mr. Musante's presentation. Great instructor. He has explained why
some of my depositions have worked! Ranks as one of the best! Practical content very useful and helpful.
Musante is excellent. 90 percentile! [Practical content] Excellent. [Musante] Excellent. [This
seminar's depo rules] articulates what I was doing intuitively, but not
often enough. A+! Plain talk is a rarity in this profession and it is greatly appreciated.
The seminar provided me with greater confidence to stick with my instincts
and not follow the "traditional" methods I have witnessed with
other attorneys. Provided practical and useful information rather than mere theory. Material
was well organized; Excellent practical content, excellent instructor. As long as I learn enough to help me advance ONE of my open cases, I
judge the CLE worthwhile. This was worthwhile. [Practical content] will
affect the way I conduct depositions significantly. [This seminar's depo
rules] quite different -- I'm going to change. I asked my boss about taking this CLE; he said, "Ahhh, you don't
need it." He was wrong. I paid for it myself and I'm glad I did.
It confirms to me that there IS process to this practice. Very practical in that it gets to the heart of what our goals should
be in deposing an adverse party and then walks through the methodology.
Musante is great! I'm entertained, becoming convinced and feeling enthusiastic!
I'm looking forward to using these tools and expect to be better than
I would have been without this seminar. Very valuable compared to other CLEs. Excellent practical content and
excellent instructor. I have adhered to the "stupid orthodoxy"
more often than I not. Very helpful, very practical. Excellent practical content. Among the
5 best CLEs. Excellent teacher. Good practical value. Excellent teacher. Much, much better than other depo seminars I've gone to. Extremely good
content. I particularly appreciated the visual examples. Musante is excellent.
I stayed attentive all day and took notes. I really enjoyed the humor
and political/social context examples. I have lots of depo witnesses who
waffle, qualify answers and "forget" or "don't know."
I can use these tips and the info provided immediately. Excellent. I brought a book to read, but never opened it. Very engaging,
funny and fast-paced. Makes me want to go back and read my old depo transcripts.
Will change my [future] depos substantially. Valuable content. Excellent instructor. Worked hard - good energy - pulled
off tough trick: challenged us humbly! The debunking of false maxims very
valuable! I am recommitted to rigorous preparation for depos that will
allow me to depend mostly on my reading skill at trial. "The 25 Credibility Arguments for Deposition and Trial" Invaluable seminar…I believe that I have learned some wonderful,
effective techniques that will start me out in a successful direction
with my Highly useful content for my criminal defense trial work. Musante is
an A+. Excellent seminar. As a new lawyer, I was looking for a CLE that could
provide me with a universal schema to apply to depositions so I wouldn't
feel lost or alone…this CLE provided that information and more. Robert
was a fun teacher; easy to follow, captivating and intellectually stimulating.
His use of video clips illuminated his teaching points very well…as
a child of technology, I greatly appreciated the use of video clips. Excellent seminar…I will go back over the printed materials. Excellent
speaker…as good as I've heard. Time flew by. Great program…great practical tips. Excellent speaker…very
engaging. Will help me to pin down the elusive witness. Comprehensive seminar; very effective at provoking thought regarding
the approach to prep for depo. A+ speaker. Video clips were helpful and
broke up the presentation well. Excellent seminar…excellent speaker. I think the Simpson videos
do a great job of illustrating the teaching points. The quality of my
depositions will improve to a great extent. Very high evaluation re content of seminar…very good speaker. This
seminar will help improve the quality of my depos a great deal with regard
to "I don’t know" and "I don’t remember"
situations. Very practical seminar…very dynamic speaker. The video clips were
one of the better aspects of the class. Not only will my depositions improve
but also trial cross. Very interesting and informative seminar. Gives a lot of logical arguments
and commonsense points that wouldn't normally occur to me. Musante has
high energy and interest in the topic…makes time pass. Effective
use of real-world examples to back up teaching points. Very good seminar. I liked [Musante's] insistence on a "right"
way and forceful argument to support. Musante is great…engaging…good
use of talking and visual aids. I liked the use of several fact patterns
to illustrate…the OJ Simpson background was appropriately in depth. Excellent seminar…excellent speaker. Total agreement with the credibility
argument claim. Excellent seminar…I have attended previously and used these techniques.
Musante is excellent. Very good seminar…the skills for taking deposition distilled to
understandable components, capable to being learned and applied. Very good seminar…I came hoping to find some tools to use against
the "I don’t remember" response…I found them in this
seminar. Musante very good…keeps it interesting with real life examples. Very practical seminar for my practice. Musante kept a good pace, full
of info and light on digressing. Excellent seminar…excellent speaker. The seminar content seems highly practical to me. I will need to read
thru the materials carefully and try to digest the philosophy/techniques
Musante is dynamic…lots of energy…thanks! Very helpful seminar…good use of historical anecdotes/video with
which to apply the "tips". The axioms are a bit long. Musante
is engaging--just enough humor, levity and enthusiasm…keeps you interested. Highly useful seminar--it will change the way I do depositions. An entertaining
and educational presentation. Videos were helpful as teaching tools. Very compelling presentation and fantastic format. Musante is excellent…I
enjoyed his presentation examples and teaching points. Truly Very good seminar…very good speaker. The seminar will help me focus
more on motivation and exploring it. Also of closing off, or opening up…lack
of memory. Very good seminar…very good speaker. The practical content of this seminar was excellent. The use of real
high profile examples highlighted the strengths of good deposition techniques
and the oft-used poor practices of many attorneys. Excellent, interesting subject matter. Musante is interesting…good
layout and style. The practical content gives me a good perspective from a defensive standpoint.
I like to know what the enemy has been trained to know and do. Videos
well done. This was a combination of refresher and new approach to situations that
arise in every deposition. Excellent speaker. Very useful video clips. Good speaker. I did not experience Simpson overload…good historical
example. Very helpful. I liked the seminar. Great speaker. Video clips were great. Very good seminar. Written materials do not contain many points speaker
made…because of speed of presentation, hard to get all down on paper.
Excellent speaker. Effective videos…illustrated points well and kept
lecture interesting. Very good speaker…very good seminar. This seminar will help both
adverse and preparation of witnesses. |
