Brother-in-Law at Defense Counsel's Firm and a Request to "Clean Up" the Testimony
You are a freelance certified reporter retained for a six-hour deposition in a wrongful termination case. The defendant is represented by Halvorsen & Pike, where your brother-in-law is a non-equity partner in the corporate group; he has no role in the case, and you have never met the lead attorney. Co-counsel from a second firm notices the deposition. One week after you deliver the certified transcript, the plaintiff's paralegal emails: the witness said "I ain't never seen that memo," and she asks you to change it to "I have not seen that memo," delete eleven "you know" instances, and send the rough draft before certification "so we can catch anything else." She adds that the attorney will "remember this" when future work is assigned. The transcript has not yet been filed with any court.
1. What is your disclosure obligation regarding your brother-in-law, and can you proceed?
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Disclose before you report, in writing, to all counsel of record-not just the firm that retained you. The test is not whether you feel biased; it is whether the relationship creates an appearance of partiality that the parties are entitled to evaluate.
The facts cut both ways. Your brother-in-law is a partner at the firm representing the defendant, so there is a family financial interest in the outcome of the case through the firm's success, even though he is non-equity and uninvolved. Against that, you have no personal relationship with the lead attorney, no prior work for the firm on this matter, and no direct stake.
Disclosure lets the parties waive. Notify plaintiff's counsel and the noticing co-counsel, state the relationship precisely, and offer to withdraw if either side objects. Do not accept a waiver from defense counsel alone; the party whose interests could be harmed is the plaintiff. If plaintiff objects, decline the engagement and return any retainer promptly. If both sides waive in writing, proceed and keep the waiver in the file.
2. How do you respond to the paralegal's request to change "ain't never seen" and delete the "you know" instances?
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Refuse, in writing, and explain why in terms the paralegal can take to her attorney.
The transcript is verbatim. "I ain't never seen that memo" is not a typographical error; it is a double negative with substantive content about the witness's register, education, and manner of speech. Changing it to "I have not seen that memo" is not cleaning up; it is manufacturing testimony. Filler words are likewise part of the record: eleven "you know" instances in a short answer may bear on the witness's confidence or coaching, which is exactly what opposing counsel will argue.
The legitimate route exists and should be named. Under the applicable deposition rule, the witness may review the transcript and submit an errata sheet listing changes and reasons, which is appended-the original answer remains. A court order can also correct the record. Neither route is a paralegal email after delivery.
The "remember this" remark is an improper attempt to influence a neutral officer of the court. Note it, keep the email, and if pressure continues, tell the noticing attorney directly and consider whether your jurisdiction requires reporting.
3. The paralegal also asks for the rough draft before certification. What do you send, and why?
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Nothing before certification, and certainly not a draft described as something to "catch anything else" in.
A certified transcript carries a certificate that it is a true and accurate record. A pre-certification draft is, by definition, not that, and circulating one converts your transcript into a collaborative document that a party may later claim reflects unreviewed corrections. The risk is not hypothetical: the paralegal has already asked for substantive edits, so a draft would predictably return with more of them and create a dispute about what the witness actually said.
What you may send is the certified transcript, once it exists, to the party that ordered it, on your normal terms. If the noticing attorney wants the witness to review it under the deposition rule, the certified copy is what goes out, with the errata procedure explained.
Reply once, politely, in writing: certified transcripts only, no pre-certification drafts, no substantive alterations. Keep the exchange; if the firm later contests the bill or the content, the email record shows you held the line.