Strategic Depositions, Effective Outlines, Information Gathering, Admissions, Witness Management, Advanced Strategies, and More

Veronica J. Finkelstein | Wilmington University School of Law

Veronica J. Finkelstein is an accomplished litigator and educator dedicated to developing the next generation of legal advocates. She spent much of her career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Philadelphia, where she served as a civil division training officer, paralegal supervisor, and later, senior litigation counsel. Finkelstein successfully litigated civil affirmative and defensive matters, including tort, employment law, and medical malpractice cases, as well as criminal child exploitation cases. She also prosecuted fraud claims, such as qui tam actions, earning the Executive Office of United States Attorneys Director’s Award for Superior Performance as a Civil Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2014. Prior to her government service, she clerked for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and worked in construction litigation at Duane Morris, LLP, and Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, PC.

Now a full-time professor at Wilmington University School of Law, Finkelstein has an extensive teaching background, having taught at Drexel Law, Emory Law, and Rutgers Law. She has also instructed at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center and serves as a program director for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Recognized for her excellence in teaching, she received NITA’s Jo Ann Harris Public Service Award in 2024 and multiple accolades from Rutgers Law. Her scholarship spans evidence, civil procedure, and constitutional law, and she co-authored Ethical Lawyering: A Guide for the WellIntentioned, now in its second edition. A graduate of Emory University School of Law and Pennsylvania State University, both with honors, Finkelstein was an elite moot court competitor and a member of the Order of the Barristers.

William C. Martucci | Shook Hardy & Bacon

Mr. Martucci, who holds an LL.M. from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., practices nationally in complex class action litigation (including high-stakes commercial litigation and wage & hour litigation). Chambers & Partners America’s Leading Lawyers for Business notes: “Bill Martucci is worth having on any dream team for litigation and policy issues.” His jury work has been featured in The National Law Journal. He is listed in the Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America for Business and Employment Litigation. He teaches multinational business policy and the global workplace at Georgetown. Bill is a partner with Shook Hardy & Bacon in Washington, DC, and New York.

Session I – Getting the Most Out of Depositions | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

• Creating an Effective Outline
• Handling Exhibits
• Gathering Information
• Getting Admissions
• Locking the Deponent In

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

Session II – Mastering Deposition Strategy | 3:10pm – 4:10pm

• The Big Picture
• Strategic Questioning
• Dealing with Objections
• Exhibit Use
• Depositions Transcripts During Discovery
• Summary Judgment Considerations
• Effective Use of Depositions During Trial
• ADR Considerations