and potsdam's insurance company hired tom mortati to defend the police. best defense is a good offense, mortati decided to turn the tables on nick and his lawyer. >> reporter: so what's your strategy? >> to prove that nick killed garrett phillips. >> reporter: and therefore, your clients, the cops, were justified in doing everything they did that he thought was a deprivation of his rights. >> bottom line, yes. >> reporter: a preliminary step in these cases, before the lawsuit is actually filed, is a proceeding called a 50-h hearing in which the defense attorney, in this case tom, gets to question the plaintiff, nick hillary. >> reporter: does he have to answer? >> no. he can assert his fifth amendment privilege. >> reporter: april 2012. tom purposely picked a non-descript conference room in potsdam's municipal building for nick's deposition. he chose not to videotape it. >> i wanted to keep it low-key. 'cause in the event he's talking, i want him to keep talking. >> reporter: how did it go? >> well, mr. hillary was talking. >> reporter: tom's main goal wa