Professor Gary S. Gildin presents on taking stress-free, mindful depositions to Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

CARLISLE, Pa.—Professor Gary S. Gildin delivered a presentation, Taking Stress-Free, Mindful Depositions, to lawyers at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on November 4, 2025.

Gildin posited that lawyers taking depositions can control the witness and achieve all the purposes of the deposition if at every moment they are mindful of which of three goals they are pursuing—1) Building a Nabla; 2) Test-driving admissions; or 3) Surfing for Nablas—and using the questioning technique appropriate to that goal. Gildin also addressed protocols for dealing with objections and obstructionist behavior of opposing counsel. Finally, Gildin identified the proper role of counsel when defending the deposition.

Gildin’s article “An Updated Practical Guide to Taking and Defending Depositions” was published in Volume 129, Issue 1 (Fall 2024) of the Dickinson Law Review.

Professor Gary S. Gildin teaches courses in Trial Advocacy as well as Advanced Persuasion. Both courses rely on recent findings in neuroscience to adapt the substance and techniques of advocacy to judges, jurors, and policymakers to align with how their brains will process information and reach a decision. Gildin recently published "The Neuroscience of Qualified Immunity," arguing that the United States Supreme Court’s immunity doctrine does not correspond with the process by which the brains of government officials actually choose to act. Professor Gildin is co-founder of Trial Story LLC, drawing on principles of neuroscience to consult with and train lawyers to find the single strongest story that the trier of fact will find not only predictable, but inevitable.