Should a Multi-Volume Deposition Get One Summary or Two?

Volume 1 ends on page 212, partway through the witness's testimony about a second MRI. Volume 2 picks up three weeks later, and depending on the court reporter, it may start over at page 1.

So does that witness get one deposition summary or two? In most cases, one. The two volumes are a single witness's testimony, split by the calendar or by page count, and the attorney reading the summary wants that testimony in one place. A few situations do call for separate summaries, though, and a few habits keep a combined summary clear about which volume said what.

If you're still settling on a basic structure, start with how to write a deposition summary. Here we'll stay on what changes once there's more than one volume.

Default: one summary per witness

A multi-volume deposition should usually get one summary per witness, covering every volume in a single document. The questioning doesn't reset when the witness comes back. Counsel returns to topics from the first session, finishes lines of questioning that ran out of time, and asks about documents produced in between. Split the summary at the volume break and the testimony on a single issue ends up in two files.

A combined summary lets the reader see everything the witness said about, say, prior neck treatment, whether it came on day one or day two. It also means one witness header, one exhibit list and one set of open items. And it's harder to miss half the testimony when someone pulls the summary for a motion or a mediation brief three months from now.

When two summaries make sense

Separate summaries are the better choice in a few specific situations:

• Volume 1 is needed now. If the next deposition, an expert report or a motion comes before Volume 2 is taken, summarize Volume 1 on its own. When Volume 2 arrives, fold it into that summary rather than setting a second standalone file beside it.
• The witness testified in two capacities. A person may be questioned individually in one session and as an organization's designated representative in another. Counsel usually wants those kept apart, because testimony given for the organization is treated differently from personal testimony.
• The attorney asks for it. Some teams keep work product by transcript. That works, as long as each summary names the other and says where the witness's testimony continues.

If none of those apply, one document is the cleaner choice.

Let the format set the layout

One summary doesn't mean one layout. The format you've chosen decides how the volumes sit inside it:

• Issue or topic summaries merge the volumes. Under each issue, entries run in the order the testimony was given, Volume 1 first.
• Page-line and chronological summaries follow the transcript, so they keep volume order, with a clear Volume 2 heading where the second session begins.
• Narrative summaries can blend both volumes into one account, but each statement still needs a citation that names its volume.

Whatever the layout, every entry carries its volume along with the page and line, because two volumes can each have a page 14. The citation mechanics are covered in how to cite testimony across volumes, so the one rule here is simple: never leave the volume implied.

Carry open questions forward

The end of Volume 1 often leaves loose threads. The witness says, "I'd have to look at my notes." Counsel asks for a document to be produced. A question gets cut off when time runs out, or an instruction not to answer is left for the attorneys to take up later.

Keep a short list of those open items in the summary, each with its Volume 1 citation. When Volume 2 comes in, give every item one of three labels:

1. Answered, with the Volume 2 page and line.
2. Raised again, still open, with both citations.
3. Not revisited, so the attorney can see it was dropped.

The third label is the easiest to leave out. A promise to check notes that nobody followed up on is easy to lose across 400 pages of transcript, and it's exactly the gap counsel wants to hear about early.

Flag what changed between sessions

Time passes between volumes, and things happen in that gap. The witness may have read the Volume 1 transcript. New medical records may have been produced. Corrections to Volume 1 may already be on an errata sheet. Any of those can change how the witness answers the second time.

When a Volume 2 answer differs from Volume 1 on the same point, the summary shows both, side by side, each with its volume, page and line. It doesn't pick one or explain the difference. If the witness says in Volume 2 what they reviewed between sessions, record that with its citation too.

Keep this separate from errata sheet corrections. An errata change is the witness's signed correction after reading the transcript. A different answer in Volume 2 is new sworn testimony. Both belong in the summary, labeled for what they are. For shifts that build across a whole deposition, see our post on tracking how a witness's story changes.

Track exhibits across volumes

Exhibits are where multi-volume summaries get muddled. A document marked in Volume 1 often goes back in front of the witness in Volume 2, sometimes to ask about a page nobody touched the first time.

One exhibit list for the whole deposition fixes most of that. For each exhibit, record where it was marked and every later place, in either volume, where the witness was asked about it. If the reporter's exhibit indexes don't line up between volumes, note the mismatch instead of renumbering anything.

Joining volumes this way means careful reading across hundreds of pages. LezDo TechMed's deposition summary services are handled by medical and paramedical reviewers, and every summary is checked through our three-layer quality-control process before it reaches you.

Who makes the call

Whether a witness gets one summary or two is the attorney's decision, and so is what any difference between the volumes means for the case. The summary's job is narrower. It keeps all of a witness's testimony findable, shows which volume every statement came from, and puts open items and changed answers where nobody has to hunt for them.

So when you send out a deposition that runs to two volumes, say so up front. If the second session hasn't happened yet, ask for a Volume 1 summary built to take Volume 2 later. That one sentence in your request saves a rebuild.