Disgruntled employees, a supplier relationship gone sour, a business breakup, product liability, slip and falls, financing snafus. As a business principal, sooner or later you or one of your associates may find yourself facing a deposition subpoena that demands your pre-trial testimony for a lawsuit. While depositions are a routine component of any civil lawsuit, for a prospective deponent, a deposition should never be taken matter-of-factly. There are certain parameters to guide your approach and ensure the outcome is as straightforward and painless as possible. This article is meant solely to touch on a few good practices. Anyone receiving a deposition subpoena or notice should consult with her attorney and ultimately be guided by her advice.

The recent dissolution of Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault has caused me to reflect on the future of the Boston legal community. The current view seems to be that to survive, law firms must get bigger. The trend is towards the creation of national firms. The impact on the Boston legal community of this march towards national status will be more mergers and/or dissolutions of the Boston-based law firms.