THE IMPORANTANCE OF DISCOVERY PART 1

THE IMPORANTANCE OF DISCOVERY

PART 1

Requests for Production - Know the Rules!

        Let's talk discovery for a bit.  In my opinion, this is one of the most important tasks that a paralegal is involved in.   Requesting and obtaining documents and facts is crucial to building any case, from personal injury to family.  

        Courts have rules governing when you can request documents, what you can request, how to address objections, etc.  It is extremely important you review the rules relevant to your state, or frequently familiarize yourself with Federal rules if you handle those types of matters. 

        Personally, even when I "know" the rules, I find it helpful to review periodically.  For instance, what we tend to call in Connecticut Family Law the Mandatory Requests for Production, to the best of my knowledge, have not changed in some time.  Mandatory requests include items such as bank statements, 401(k) and other retirement account statements, pay stubs, etc.  There are time frames referenced, for instance, 2 years of bank statements.  Depending on if your case, you may need a larger or smaller time-frame and need to prepare the appropriate requests in addition or in place of the mandatory requests.  Other practice areas such as personal injury matters rely heavily on form requests in the Connecticut Practice Book.  Clearly, the use of and/or availability of template requests may vary in different states and jurisdictions however, I'd presume each state and/or jurisdiction has their own "standard" requests in various practice areas. 

        There may be restrictions as to when you can formally begin the formal discovery phase of your case.  For example, in Connecticut, we cannot serve our discovery requests in family matters until the return date has passed.  Again, this may be different in different courts throughout the country.  Familiarizing yourself with the rules for requests for production as pertain to your practice area will definitely add to your value as a paralegal! 

        Following the court rules and requesting relevant documents and information as soon as you are able to is important for any case.  Monitor your deadlines!  Make sure you remind your attorneys when it is time to file requests if necessary.  It's generally okay to be proactive and put together the initial requests especially if your firm uses templates - just be careful to change reference to Plaintiff and Defendant and time frames requested as necessary for your case.  More importantly, always have an attorney review and approve your work before you send it to opposing counsel or a pro se party, even if you feel 100% confident.  We are not attorneys and we cannot give the final go ahead on legal documents no matter how "simple".  Ultimately it is our attorney who is responsible for the filing as far as the court is concerned, after all, it is their signature that goes on the documents.  Although they many times rely on us to put together a quality pleading, objection or request, they must approve the final product.  We all make mistakes from time to time! 

        How familiar are you with your own court's rules?  Perhaps this is a good time to self-educate!

Have any suggestions? Topics you'd like to see covered?

Use the suggestion form on the left side of this webpage!