Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Re: Deposing opposing counsel

1) You do not get to depose the opposing attorney. What you do is serve written discovery requests on him/her. Go to http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/ccp.html and read starting in 2030.010 all about interrogatories, inspectin and production of documents, and requests for admissions. That's how you get information from the other side. See also http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/ccp.html for judicial council form interrogatories;

3) You would probably want to depose the contractor and examine him vigorously about his conversations with the opposing counsel, assuming of course that opposing counsel is not the contractor's attorney, in which case privilege would apply.

4) legal ethical issues may be implicated, but I would need more facts. You don't get to sue opposing counsel for malpractice, because he's not your attorney. If he has tampered with evidence or witnesses then there a number of different sanctions which can be brought against him in the current lawsuit, or even ethical charges by the State Bar, but I'm not seeing that based on the limited facts you've presented.

Re: Deposing opposing counsel

Sorry, that link for the form was actually http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/fillable/disc001.pdf .

Re: Deposing opposing counsel

I have come to believe that your posts are a running joke. Nobody is that (obscene gerund)(adjective).

Re: Deposing opposing counsel

In addition to the previous advice, consider the following:

1. If the information is protected by attorney-client privilege, there ain't no way it's discoverable.

2. If it is work product, it might be discoverable, but is probably protected....you need to look at the exceptions to work-product protection.

Case law shows that courts permit taking an opposing consel's deposition only for "extremely good cause" and you certainly won't find a "form" that will be helpful; for example, the Judicial Council for sure has not promulgated a form entitled "Application for Order Allowing Taking Deposition of Opposing Counsel" or anything of the sort. I'd say you don't need a court order if the opposing attorney doesn't object to having his deposition taken, but he or she almost certainly will, and if he/she consents, it is probably a trap for you..

Legal malpractice consists in serving the client poorly, as by giving bad advice or overbilling. Only a harmed client can claim malpractice. An opposing party cannot. If you have any issues with opposing counsel, you should address them to the State Bar as ethical violations, or if they affect the present case, you might address them to the court, being careful to copy the affected attorney.