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Discovery Requests in Employment Litigation Under the Heightened Scrutiny of Rules 26(b) and 34(b)

Drafting or Responding to Interrogatories, Requests for Production of Documents or Admission of Facts, and Third-Party Subpoenas

Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Conducted on Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Recorded event now available

or call 1-800-926-7926

This CLE webinar will guide employment litigators in drafting discovery requests likely to withstand heightened judicial scrutiny under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b). The panel will also discuss strategies for making sustainable objections when discovery requests are overly burdensome in light of the needs of the case. The panel will also review strategies for producing documents and electronically stored information promptly as required by Rule 34(b).

Description

Rule 26(b) means that employment litigators must raise proportionality arguments to support their discovery requests and to object to opposing counsel's discovery requests. Courts have emphasized that parties must reign in overly broad discovery requests.

Litigators must justify any request for discovery beyond the direct circumstances that led to the employment law claim and damages sought. Interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admissions, and third-party subpoenas for information in personnel files intended to demonstrate similar conduct or prior complaints may be narrowed or quashed if the burden or expense of producing the information outweighs its likely benefit.

Knowing how to draft discovery requests that are likely to withstand burden and proportionality challenges and how to craft objections to broad discovery requests is critical for employment litigators. This includes understanding how to object to Rule 34 requests with specificity and how to respond to early requests for production within a "reasonable time."

Listen as our authoritative panel discusses how courts are interpreting and applying the current requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and best practices for employment litigators for drafting and responding to discovery requests.

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Outline

  1. Brief overview of prior amendments and their requirements
  2. Considerations for drafting discovery requests
  3. Strategies for responding/objecting to discovery requests

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • When drafting discovery requests, what considerations should employment counsel consider to ensure that the requests are in line with the new proportionality standard?
  • When responding to early requests for production, how specific must employment litigators be in their objections? What constitutes a "reasonable time" for producing information?
  • What guidance does case law provide on determining the circumstances in which the burden or expense of obtaining discovery outweighs the likely benefit?

Faculty

Carr, Corwin
Corwin J. Carr

Attorney
Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg

Mr. Carr has extensive experience conducting internal investigations and representing companies in labor and employment...  |  Read More

Horton, James
James F. Bryton

Of Counsel
Littler Mendelson

Mr. Bryton focuses his practice as a labor and employment trial attorney. James is proficient in FLSA violations and...  |  Read More

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