Depositions can make or break your case. This is your chance to learn from the master. For more than 30 years, David Markowitz has been studying deposition and trial techniques and has presented seminars to improve the skills of practicing attorneys across the country. Dave shares ten important goals to accomplish, including avoiding undesired results. Learn the value of questions structure and how to deal with evasive and incomplete answers. The most important questions and techniques the best lawyers use are covered, as will a key component of any deposition-knowing when to stop asking questions.

Through Dave's keen ability to communicate and persuade, he demonstrates powerful, practical methods for getting the most out of your depositions, including the best ways to defend depositions, depose expert witnesses, and effectively use depositions at trial. Whether you are new to trial practice or want to refresh your deposition skills, this presentation should not be missed.

A founding member of the firm, Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf PC, Dave Markowitz is considered by his peers to be among the best trial lawyers in the Northwest. His commanding presence and keen instincts have made him a courtroom icon. Over the last three decades, Dave has shepherded the firm from its beginning as an ambitious two-attorney litigation shop to its present status as one of the premier business litigation firms in the region.

Dave is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America as one of Portland's 2013 “Bet-the-Company" Litigators, as well as ranking as a "Best Lawyer" in the category of commercial litigation. Additionally, he is ranked as Portland's "Lawyer of the Year" in the category of real estate. He is a Fellow and former Oregon State chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was cited as one of the top ten Oregon litigators by the National Law Journal, is recognized by Chambers USA as one of the top commercial litigators in Oregon, and in 2013, he was included in Chambers Global as a top litigator - one of only three Oregon litigators included in the directory. Dave is ranked in Lawdragon's 500 Leading Litigators in America and 500 Leading Plaintiffs' Lawyers in America. He is also listed as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation and Benchmark Litigation Plaintiff's edition.

In a statewide survey identifying the top five percent of attorneys, Dave is the number one ranked litigator in Oregon according to Oregon Super Lawyers magazine. In 2011, he received the "Leadership in Law" honor from the Daily Journal of Commerce. Oregon Business magazine, in their 2007 Power Book, recognized Dave for "Delivering Results," naming him one of 50 Great Leaders in Oregon.

In addition to his active trial schedule, Dave shares his craft with lawyers of all levels. He is a frequent lecturer on litigation-related topics for the Oregon State Bar, the Federal Bar Association and the Multnomah Bar Association. He regularly presents a nationally-recognized training seminar on depositions. Trial Guides™ has produced a DVD of this popular deposition course, and it has become one of the company's best-selling products. As a follow-up, Trial Guides™ recently produced Dave's "Mastering the Art of Persuading the Trial Judge" course on DVD and CD.

Dave frequently acts as a mediator and arbitrator to resolve commercial disputes, and he served as a protem judge in Multnomah County for several years. He also is an expert on attorney fees, providing courtroom testimony in legal fee award disputes.

Dave graduated from California State Polytechnic University in 1971, and from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1974, where he was legislation editor of the Pacific Law Journal. He was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1974 and for eight years thereafter practiced general civil litigation with an established Portland firm. In January, 1983, he and Barrie J. Herbold formed Markowitz & Herbold, the predecessor of Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf.