A deposition of a non-English-speaking witness is one of the highest-leverage moments in litigation. Done right, the testimony stands on appeal and survives cross-examination. Done poorly, ambiguity in interpretation becomes opposing counsel's opening on every contested point.
Start with interpreter selection
Not every certified interpreter is the right interpreter for your matter. Match for:
- Language pair certification at the level the jurisdiction recognizes
- Subject-matter experience in the relevant practice area (PI, employment, IP, criminal defense, etc.)
- Familiarity with the specific dialect or regional variant if relevant (Mexican Spanish vs. Caribbean Spanish, Mandarin vs. Cantonese, Mam vs. K'iche')
- Years of deposition-specific experience
Pre-deposition prep with your witness
Walk your witness through three things before deposition day:
- The role of the interpreter. The interpreter is not on either side. They render questions and answers verbatim. The witness should answer the question, not the interpreter.
- How interpretation actually works. Each question is asked in English, interpreted into the witness's language, the witness answers in their language, the answer is interpreted back to English. This is slower than normal conversation. Pauses are correct.
- Yes and no in the witness's language. Many witnesses default to English yes/no out of politeness, which creates ambiguity. They should answer in their native language and let the interpreter render it.
Pre-deposition prep with your interpreter
A good interpreter benefits from context too. Provide:
- The case caption and a brief description of the matter
- Any technical or specialized vocabulary the witness is likely to encounter (medical terminology, industry jargon, product names)
- Names and proper nouns that will come up; these often get interpreted in unexpected ways without forewarning
- Any documents that will be marked as exhibits, ahead of time when possible
Common pitfalls
- Using a family member as an "interim" interpreter for any portion of the deposition, even off the record. Family members can be impeached as biased and the practice creates a record nightmare.
- Switching languages mid-deposition for "easy" questions. Either the interpreter is necessary or they are not.
- Allowing the interpreter to summarize. The interpreter renders verbatim. Summary is for closing argument.
- Skipping the interpreter's qualifications statement on the record. This is a small but important record-protection step.
AMS schedules certified deposition interpreters every business day and welcomes pre-deposition prep calls between counsel and the assigned interpreter when scheduling allows.