Interpreted Depositions, Attorney Ethics and Bad Behavior Towards Foreign Language Speakers
In “Lawyer’s Guide to Cross-Cultural Depositions” we talked about the importance of establishing a rapport between a deposing attorney and a non-English-speaking deponent to help overcome the deponent’s mistrust and defensiveness. However, building respect when deposing a foreign-born witness is not even a consideration during hostile depositions where the witness speaks a foreign language. In fact, some deposing attorneys have been known to act rudely towards a foreign language speaker during a deposition involving a foreign language deposition interpreter. But whether or not an attorney’s rude behavior towards a foreign language speaker during a deposition is considered unethical behavior is a question the courts continue to struggle with.
