Ian Hardy - July 28, 2014

Optima Juris President Ian Hardy will be presenting his exclusive seminar, “International Depositions 101,” at the NCRA Convention & Expo this Friday 8/1/14. We are so excited about this event that we wanted to give you a little preview of what’s in store:
Where do international depos happen?
Everywhere in the world! Some spots, however, are more popular than other. Here are the top three regions:
Europe
Asia
Canada
Where will you most likely get to go?
UK (no)
Germany, France, other countries in Europe (more likely)
Asia? Yes.
Canada (no)
Rule of thumb: if country is not English-speaking and doesn’t already have reporters, you will be more likely to be asked to go there.
What do clients want?
If you do not live abroad, you will need to add value as a traveling reporter/videographer. How?

• Be an expert: understand procedure and legal issues related to international depos
• Be 100% reliable (international depos represent a huge investment)
• Be an organized and effective traveler
• Know how to work and get around in a variety of challenging circumstances abroad
• Know how to be failsafe

Can a reporter administer an oath to a witness outside of the U.S.?
Yes, BUT:

• U.S. notary powers do not work outside of U.S. territory
• Counsel for both sides must therefore stipulate that the reporter can swear in the witness
• Or, the depo can take place at a U.S. embassy or consulate (U.S. territory)
• In such cases, a consular officer can be hired to swear in the witness (for a thousand bucks or so; our tax dollars at work )

Want to hear more? Tune- in for Optima Juris’ live coverage of the NCRA Convention & Expo, July 31 – August 3, 2014, on our social media networks.  We will have all the fun, news and excitement as it happens!

Optima Juris is proud to be an NCRA member and the only 100% American international deposition agency.* Agencies love us because we make it easy for them to handle those rare requests for international depos. Clients love us because we give valued advice and save them money by minimizing travel costs.
As a California registered company, run from Los Angeles, we pride ourselves on providing American high standards of service, all over the world. Your requests are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Beware of doing business with foreign-based agencies which could be difficult to work with due to time differences, non-English speaking providers, and lack of understanding of the American legal system. Don’t be fooled by foreign companies with field offices in the States.

* By international deposition agency, we mean an agency that exclusively handles depos in foreign countries, and does not do domestic ones