Once you’ve filed a business lawsuit — or someone has filed a business lawsuit against you — you’re in for a long, bumpy ride. Lawsuits don’t proceed straight to the courtroom like they do on TV. The attorneys on each side need to access all relevant information in order to create effective arguments; appropriately, the process of accessing that information is called “discovery.” So, what is discovery and how does it work? Here’s a closer look.
The discovery process can be complex and challenging to understand. However, when you’re represented by an experienced business attorney, you’ll have a guide and advocate throughout discovery — and the lawsuit as a whole.
What Is Discovery?
Finding the Information You Need for a Successful Case
In order to make sure both sides in a lawsuit have access to all the information they need to make strong arguments, there is a process called discovery. During this process, each side shares relevant information with the other as they discover it. The point of discovery is to give each side a chance to respond to the other’s arguments and ensure neither side is “ambushed” by surprise information during a trial.
Types of Discovery
The discovery process can be a complex one. Depending on the exact nature of your dispute, your attorney may rely on one or more kinds of discovery. These are some of the most common types of discovery:
Production of Documents
Often, one side will ask the other to produce documents relevant to the existing business dispute. For example, if the lawsuit has to do with finances, your attorney might ask the other side to produce financial statements from the relevant time period.
Interrogatories
Interrogatories are open-ended questions each side may ask the other. For example, your attorney might ask the other side for the dates of all communications with a particular creditor.
Depositions
Depositions are a common tool in lawsuits, but they tend to be expensive. In a deposition, your legal team obtains recorded testimony from a particular witness. Witnesses are under oath as they would be in a courtroom.
Requests for Admissions
Requests for admissions are somewhat similar to interrogatories. However, instead of asking open-ended questions, one side asks the other to deny or admit to a series of stated facts.
When it comes to winning your business lawsuit, discovery is half the battle. An experienced business lawyer can help. Call Weisblatt Law Firm at (713) 666-1981 to get started with a free phone consultation.
The Timeline of Discovery
While court orders can sometimes cause extensions, the timeline of discovery in business dispute litigation usually proceeds like this:
Step 1: Rule 26(f) Conference
The Rule 26(f) conference is a meeting where legal representatives for both parties set out a plan for the discovery process.
Step 2: Initial Disclosures
The initial disclosure is the first formal information exchange between the parties in the lawsuit. The initial disclosure often includes the following:
- Details of how your attorneys calculated damages owed
- Information on insurance policies that may cover you
- A list of all witnesses
- A list of all documents you intend to reference in the trial
- The facts that support your attorneys’ claims on your behalf.
Usually, your legal representatives and those for the other party should make their initial disclosures within 14 days of the Rule 26(f) conference. However, in some lawsuits, the parties might agree to skip the initial disclosure stage.
Step 3: Creating a Discovery Schedule and Proceeding with Discovery
Both sides create and agree upon a schedule for continued discovery and file it with the court. The court will periodically check to see that both sides are sticking to the proposed discovery schedule. As discovery continues, each side will need to update its disclosures. You and your attorney must also work together when responding to discovery requests.
It’s important to understand that discovery is more than just finding documents and forwarding what you find to the other side. Strategic discovery disputes and motions may minimize the amount of information the other side has access to. For example, if the other side requests copies of every financial statement your business has ever received, your attorney may be able to object to the request because it extends beyond the scope of the lawsuit itself.
Formulating a strong discovery strategy can be a challenge, but remember that you don’t have to come up with that strategy yourself — leave this part up to your lawyer. Your role in this process is to forward any requested documents to your attorney.
eDiscovery
Before the dawn of technology, discovery was more straightforward than it is now. While attorneys may have needed to locate and share many documents, they only had to search through hard copies. Now, because many (if not most) of the documents related to business lawsuits are stored electronically, the process of electronic discovery, or eDiscovery, is an essential element of discovery.
As you might imagine, the process of eDiscovery is more complex than traditional discovery for a number of reasons. These are some of the unique concerns of dealing with electronic documents:
- Electronic data can be difficult to locate because it may be stored in data clouds, on specific servers, or even locally on hard drives.
- Electronic data can be modified easily, so each side must prove it is original.
- Some data may include highly sensitive information.
- The sheer volume of electronic data can be a challenge to sort through.
Because eDiscovery is an integral part of virtually every business lawsuit, it’s essential to choose an attorney who is well-versed in the art of eDiscovery.
The Role of a Business Attorney in Discovery
Meaningful Support Through Business Litigation
When it comes to discovery, you need an attorney who can do more than just access the right data. Your business lawyer must also be able to interpret that data and then use it to build a strong case. At Weisblatt Law Firm, we’ve helped countless Houston businesses successfully navigate even complex business lawsuits.
Whether you’ve been served with a lawsuit or are planning to file one yourself, you need an experienced business lawyer. Call Weisblatt Law Firm today at (713) 666-1981.
Attorney Andrew Weisblatt
Mr. Weisblatt has practiced continuously since becoming licensed in 1992 and has represented businesses ranging in size from one person start-up ventures to multi-national corporations employing hundreds of people in multiple countries. From 2005 through 2009 Mr. Weisblatt was in-house counsel and chief operating officer of a multi-national corporation in the steel products industry. That in-house position provided valuable insight into how businesses work and what they actually need from their lawyers – both in-house and outside counsel. Attorney Bio
