Professional Ethics and Confidentiality
What the exam tests
Ethical judgment: impartiality, confidentiality, conflicts, and the integrity of the record.
Core duties
- Be neutral. Do not give legal advice, explain procedures, or comment on testimony. Do not accept gifts or favors from a party or counsel.
- Avoid conflicts: a deposition officer must not be a relative, employee, or attorney for a party; disclose any relationship that could affect impartiality.
- Keep confidential what the law and orders protect: grand jury proceedings, juvenile records, sealed filings, protective-order material, and personal identifiers. Do not discuss testimony outside the proceeding.
- Maintain the record's integrity. Make corrections only by a certified errata process or court order; never alter a transcript to make testimony clearer, more grammatical, or more favorable.
- Store and transmit transcripts securely; do not use personal email or unapproved cloud accounts for sealed material.
- Report attempted ex parte influence to the judge or appropriate authority.
Worked example
After a deposition, an attorney asks you to "fix" a witness's answer because it is confusing. You explain that you can correct only transcription errors, such as misspelled names or obvious mistranscriptions, and that substantive changes require the witness's errata sheet or a stipulation on the record. You compare the audio, make the correction, and note it. You do not rewrite the answer.
Traps
Chatting about a high-profile case; sending a rough draft to one side only; deleting audio before the appeal period; and treating "off the record" as permission to repeat what was said.