Databases in Discovery (Craig Ball, Circuits – January 2016)
I loathe the practice of law from forms, but bow to its power. Lawyers love forms; so, to get lawyers to use more efficient and precise prose in their discovery requests, we can’t just harangue them to do it; we’ve “got to put the hay down where the goats can get it.” To that end, here is some language to consider when seeking information about databases and when serving notice of the deposition of corporate designees (e.g. , per Rule 30(b)(6) in Federal civil practice or Rule 199(b)(1) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure):
For each database or system that holds potentially responsive information, we seek the following information to prepare to question the designated person(s) who, with reasonable particularity, can testify on your behalf about information known to or reasonably available to you concerning:
The standard reporting capabilities of the database or system, including the nature, purpose, structure, appearance, format and electronic searchability of the information conveyed within each standard report (or template) that can be generated by the database or system or by any overlay reporting application;
1. The standard reporting capabilities of the database or system, including the nature, purpose, structure, appearance, format and electronic searchability of the information conveyed within each standard report (or template) that can be generated by the database or system or by any overlay reporting application; Read More
