Litigators, Which Discovery Tool will Benefit You the Most?

Charles Adant Du Picq once said, “The instruments of battle are valuable only if one knows how to use them.” This notion holds true for many civil practitioners today. For all litigators, whether state or federal, there are six basic discovery weapons or devices. It is imperative to understand all aspects of discovery tools in order to yield successful results against your opponent.

According to Ashley Lipson, author of Guerrilla Discovery and Is it Admissible?, timing and sequence is highly imperative when using these devices. Requests for Admissions are typically used during mild preliminary skirmishes, while depositions are hand-to-hand combat and more dangerous. The author’s favorite discovery tool is interrogatories as they inflict the most pain and work onto your opponent with the least amount of work and effort on your part.

Lipson further explains that Interrogatories are “a powerful weapon for laying foundations for the admissibility of evidence at a later date. It is also a potent tool for identifying and pinpointing the existence, custody, and location of tangible items, documents and other evidence that might later be the subject of other discovery weapons.”

The following is a chart excerpted from Ashley Lipson’s Guerrilla Discovery:

Weapons Chart

Weapon	Your Cost	Enemy Cost	Potential for Evasion	Unique Advantage	Key Disadvantage
Request for Admissions	$	$$	Moderate	Has self-executing consequences	Easily evaded unless skilfully drafted
Interrogatories	$	$$	High	Is inexpensive and very flexible	Often evaded unless skilfully drafted
Notice for Production	$	$$$	High	Requires enemy to locate and produce information	Can make you victim of live burial
Notice for inspection	$$	$$	Low	Permits first-hand inspection	Expert assistance may be required
Physical or mental examination	$$	$$	Low	Enemy gets poked and stuck	Normally requires motion and showing of “good cause”
Depositions	$$$$	$$$$	Moderate	Allows face-to-face cross-examination	Judge is not present to prevent evasion

For more helpful information and useful forms, check out Guerrilla Discovery.