As a discovery referee, I normally come into cases when there already is a problem. Either discovery in the case is out of control, or the antagonism among counsel is so great that the Law and Motion Judge is done dealing with the parties. In many instances, I see an all out war between counsel, with discovery being used as a weapon. There is no rhyme or reason to the 105 special interrogatories that were served, the 200 categories of documents being demanded or the 20 depositions that have been noticed. The meet and confer process has broken down into a rampage of insults. Yet nobody has bothered asking the demanding party the fundamental question “Why do you need this?” When that question is finally posed by me, too frequently that counsel cannot answer the question. In such circumstances, it is clear to me that the attorneys have no idea what direction they want to case to proceed, no plan of attack and no idea what they are trying to accomplish. In other words--No Discovery Plan!

It is at the beginning of a case that you need to plan your litigation strategy. Before you propound discovery you need to go through three steps.