LITIGATION AND PRACTICE SUPPORT
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Managing Incoming Document
Productions Strategically
Managing Incoming Document Productions Strategically
For the past decade, most innovation in litigation support
has been in collecting and producing documents in discovery. I
am eager to move some of the emphasis to the productions we
receive as litigants. The same processes and technology you use
to produce documents can help your organization win cases when
used on incoming productions. Whether you represent plaintiffs or
defendants, spending time enhancing and analyzing the productions
you receive will take you past the production phase through trial.
Before Production Begins
The best way to get a production you can work with is to ensure that
your aorneys ask for file formats and metadata you can use. At
the beginning of a case your team may be focused on how to gather
and produce your client's documents. Educate your aorneys also to
spend a few minutes thinking about what you need from the other
side. Lawyers for all parties should be discussing production formats
at their Rule 26(f ) conference or similar state case equivalent. Have
templates with standard language and field layouts on hand to insert
into document requests and case management statements.
A cookie cutter approach may not work for every matter; you
can adjust the requested fields after you find out more about the
other side's documents. You will probably not get everything you
ask for, so prioritize what is important for prosecuting the matter.
If you will have a vendor host these documents, does the vendor
do best with native files or Bates-numbered images? See if you
can get the other side to produce the most helpful one. Is color
important? On a construction case color photographs may be the
most important documents you will receive, but you can probably
by Gillian Glass, Farella Braun + Martel LLP
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