AI Page-Line Deposition Summary Prompt
Turn a complete deposition transcript into a topic-based page-line summary with precise cites, verbatim excerpts, admissions, exhibits, and unanswered questions.
Direct answer
What is an AI page-line deposition summary prompt?
It instructs an AI tool to move through a deposition transcript in order and return a topic-based summary with page:line ranges. This prompt also calls out admissions, exhibits, instructions not to answer, open items, and verbatim excerpts so each useful point can be checked in the certified transcript.
When to use this prompt
- After receiving the complete transcript and before motion, mediation, trial-preparation, or reporting work.
- When a reader needs a navigable issue summary but must retain a direct route back to the testimony.
- When admissions, exhibits, unanswered questions, and significant excerpts need separate follow-up lists.
Record inputs to prepare
- The complete certified transcript, including appearances, stipulations, errata, and any pages supplied after the initial file.
- Reliable page-and-line text. If OCR is used, compare it with the visible transcript numbering before prompting.
- The deponent name and role, case type, reviewing role, and the issues that should guide—but not limit—the summary.
- Exhibits or a clear exhibit index when the assignment requires exhibit tracking beyond what the transcript states.
Worked example · Synthetic fictional details
Sample prompt
Synthetic example: The names, dates, case details, and issues below are fictional CasePrompts sample values, not client data or evidence from a real matter. They demonstrate the prompt format, not the accuracy of any AI model's output.
Preview the complete sample prompt
CONTEXT: You are a litigation support analyst assisting insurance staff counsel in a first-party property (Hurricane claim) matter. The attached document is the certified deposition transcript of Gerald Pace, the insured, taken in connection with issues including: date of loss reporting; prior roof repairs; mitigation efforts. INSTRUCTIONS: Prepare a page-line summary of the entire transcript. Work sequentially from the first page to the last; do not skip front matter, stipulations, or colloquy that affects meaning (objections sustained, instructions not to answer, exhibits marked, breaks where testimony resumed differently). Segment by coherent topic rather than fixed page counts. Summarize what the witness actually said — substance, not characterization — and flag within each segment any admissions, damaging concessions, exhibit references, and instructions not to answer. TEMPLATE — format your output exactly as follows: ## Summary | Pages | Topic | Testimony (substance) | Admissions / notable | Exhibits | Flags | |---|---|---|---|---|---| ## Ten most significant excerpts Numbered list — verbatim Q&A with cite and a one-line significance note each. ## Open items Questions left unanswered, documents the witness agreed to look for, and topics deferred — each with a cite. EVIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: For every finding, cite page and line in the form `page:line` (e.g., 47:12–48:3) and quote the operative testimony verbatim. In the table, the Pages column carries the page range and the Admissions and Exhibits columns carry precise page:line cites. Quote verbatim wherever a characterization could be disputed. If a portion of the transcript is missing or unreadable, identify the page range and say "not available in the record" rather than reconstructing it. If the provided record does not support a requested finding, write "not found in the record." Do not infer or fill gaps from outside knowledge. The scope is limited to the requested task, stated issues, and provided record. Do not introduce outside subjects or sources. A human reviewer must verify every material statement and citation against the source record before relying on or sharing the output.
Through the Civil / insurance defense lens
Organize around exposure: what currently supports each element of the claim, what undercuts it, and what remains unproven on this record — in a neutral, evaluative register suitable for carrier reporting.
Through the Commercial litigation lens
Organize by claim element and contract provision: what the documents establish, what remains genuinely disputed, and what the damages record actually quantifies.
Through the Criminal defense lens
Organize by element of each charged offense, noting which elements rest on a single witness, where corroboration is absent, and where the record is silent.
Through the Employment litigation lens
Organize around the decision at issue: the stated reasons, the documentation that predates versus postdates the decision, comparator evidence, and policy compliance.
Through the Family law lens
Organize around the governing factors as the record speaks to them, in a measured register — the likely audience is a judge or guardian ad litem, not a jury.
Through the Medical malpractice — defense lens
Organize around the defense posture: what the chart documents the provider knew and did, where the plaintiff's account departs from the record, and what remains unproven on causation.
Through the Medical malpractice — plaintiff lens
Organize around the elements: duty, the standard of care as the record states it, deviation evidence, causation, and damages — flagging where expert foundation exists and where it is still missing.
Through the Personal injury — plaintiff lens
Surface testimony supporting each liability element and each category of damages, and flag favorable concessions prominently rather than burying them in sequence.
Through the Probate & estate litigation lens
Organize around the element the matter turns on — testamentary capacity, undue influence, or breach of fiduciary duty — in a measured register written for a probate judge, not a jury.
Through the Prosecution lens
Organize by charge and element, rating the strength of proof per element as resting on multiple independent sources, a single source, or inference.
Through the Workers' compensation — claimant lens
Organize around what the benefits turn on: compensability evidence, current work status and restrictions, treatment authorized versus requested, and average weekly wage support.
Through the Workers' compensation — employer/carrier lens
Organize around exposure: what supports compensability, what undercuts it, the authorized-care record, and the return-to-work evidence — in a register suitable for carrier reporting.
AI output is a starting point, not work product. Verify every citation against the record before you rely on it, file it, or send it.
What you'll fill in
- 01Your role
- 02Case typee.g., "trucking liability," "first-party property," "medical malpractice"
- 03Witness / deponent namee.g., "Witness A" or "the treating physician"
- 04Their role in the casee.g., "plaintiff's accident reconstructionist"
- 05Key issue(s) — 1 to 3e.g., "vehicle speed at impact; brake maintenance; visibility"
Human review gate
Verification and common failure modes
- Open each cited range and confirm the summary names the correct speaker and preserves the substance of the full question and answer.
- Check page:line ranges against the certified pagination; PDF page numbers and transcript page numbers are often different.
- Review objections, instructions not to answer, corrections, and resumed testimony before relying on an apparent admission.
- Compare each verbatim excerpt character for character and confirm every referenced exhibit was actually marked or discussed.
Boundaries
Limitations
- A page-line summary is a navigation aid, not the testimony itself, legal advice, or a substitute for reading material passages in context.
- Speaker-label errors, broken OCR, missing pages, condensed transcripts, and irregular line numbering can corrupt cites or attribution.
- The prompt does not determine whether testimony is admissible, dispositive, impeaching, or strategically important.
- CasePrompts does not upload or summarize a transcript on this page; any third-party AI service is governed by your agreements and confidentiality controls.
Keep working
Practice versions and related workflows
Provenance
Version and editorial method
- Published by
- CasePrompts, a DepoStack project
- Template
- Version 1
- Page updated
Editorial owner: Andrew Mayes. The versioned CITE content is validated at build time, and this page's sample is assembled deterministically from the synthetic values above. No language model generates the sample page.
Review status: This template has not received independent legal review. “Published” describes its CasePrompts release status; it is not a claim of legal approval, jurisdictional sufficiency, or measured model accuracy.
Read the editorial methodology →Pro tip Ask for the summary at whatever altitude you need next — 'condense the table to one page for the adjuster' is a great follow-up prompt.
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