First Time's the Chart - Tips on How to Set Up Complex Litigation Matters So You Get Them on the Right Track from the Start
1. Tools of the Trade
First Time's the Chart - Tips on How to Set Up Complex Litigation Matters So You Get
Them on the Right Track from the Start
guest author: Oliver M. Gierke
While it goes without saying that any litigation matter, no matter how large or small, needs to be set up properly
to move a case along appropriately and represent the client diligently, it is even more so when dealing with
complex litigation matters.
Almost from the start, complex litigations tend to take on a life of their own. While it is possible to "go back" and
"fix" some of the below mentioned points in smaller litigations, the sheer volume of documents (correspondence,
court filings and discovery, collections and productions) and information (deadlines, due dates, service and
distribution lists) makes it very difficult if not impossible to retrace ones steps and attempt to create any missing
pieces while the litigation continues to move along. The risk of a never-ending avalanche will haunt you.
Here are some tips to put in place at the beginning in order to avoid such a fate:
1. Know Your Jurisdiction(s)
Collect all pertinent court rules, local rules, judge's rules and coordinate the docketing of all deadlines
with appropriate reminders (and make sure the appropriate members of your case team will receive the
reminders) with your firm's managing clerk's office or whoever is responsible for this task. If you are the
responsible person, ensure there is a back-up person on your team who can handle this in your absence
or when you are occupied with other assignments. Develop proper procedures so everyone involved in
docketing and creating reminders receives their documents and notifications promptly. That way the
docketing will always be as up-to-date as possible. This not only allows your case to flow smoothly but
also protects your firm from the increased risk of missing a deadline (and potentially committing legal
malpractice) that comes hand in hand with handling larger and more complex matters.
2. Calendars for Your Team
Set up a shared calendar to which all team members have access and which shows any updates and
revisions in real time to all users. The calendar will show docketing of deadlines and setting of reminders
and will serve as an overview of what is happening in your case at any given point in time, and who on
your team is taking ownership for the project. Developing a system of color codes for the different event
types allows for easier review of the calendar entries. Keep in mind that it may take more than one
calendar, e.g. a separate one to track depositions or discovery deadlines, or there may be a need to split
the numerous deadlines across various calendars for the civil, criminal and bankruptcy portions of the
litigation. The entire team should have access to view all of this information, but edit rights should be
limited to the person responsible for maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the calendar.
3. Know Your Case(s)
Complex litigation is more than just a "large" case with substantial document productions and lots of
depositions. It may mean multiple individual cases filed all over the country combined into a Multi-
District Litigation (MDL) in a single court for pre-trial purposes. It may mean various related and
interlinked litigations in both federal and state courts, parallel civil, criminal and/or bankruptcy
proceedings, and state court cases combined under a master docket for discovery purposes. Create a
chart of these litigations and connections when the case begins and update the chart throughout the
progress of the litigation. Parties may be added or may need to be removed because they have settled,
dropped their claims or have been dismissed from the case.
4. Who's Who?
Start a contact sheet as soon as there are names to track and update it as the case progresses. It
should contain all law firms and lawyers representing your client(s) as well as all other parties (plaintiffs,
defendants, third-parties) in possibly multiple jurisdictions, main and local counsel, or counsel handling
2. specific aspects such as bankruptcy, depending on the overall litigation issues and jurisdiction(s).
Throughout the case, lawyers for various parties will file appearances and withdrawals, and new judges
or magistrates may be appointed or cases may get transferred between them. Plaintiffs in many MDLs
and other consolidated litigations create steering committees and discovery committees, and it is
important to always know the appropriate counterpart for a particular issue when you are on the defense
side. Having to scour the file, which by this stage in the case will be more than just "voluminous", will not
be a timely or appropriate option.
5. Clients
In addition to a general contact sheet, start tracking the various client contacts you have as you begin to
either prepare your case for filing of a complaint or for the defense of an action. In a multi-layered,
complex case, your client interaction will extend well beyond the usual contacts in the client's legal
department, and it is of great help to know who has which day-to-day responsibilities at the client, such
as
- processing of law firm and vendor bills,
- issuing checks for larger advance payments and retainers required by many vendors or experts, -
maintenance of the client's current and legacy database systems to assists in locating necessary
information and electronic data collection for discovery purposes,
- hardcopy data collection, or
- contacts at the various locations where the client may be maintaining offices, manufacturing sites or
storage facilities that you team will need to be in touch with.
For this as well as the general contact sheet, include names, titles, e-mail addresses, telephone
numbers as well as mailing addresses, and update all of this information throughout the case as
necessary.
6. Filing
Keep up with filing from the start, both in hardcopy and electronic form, as the volume of filing in a
complex litigation can quickly get out of hand if not attended to on a daily or at least regular basis.
Ensure that someone is responsible to forward the incoming documents to the appropriate person for
filing. Develop procedures to route hardcopy and electronic documents within the case team so
everyone gets the documents he needs.
7. Indexing
Determine early on in your case which types of documents you will be dealing with and which categories
your team will need you to index to maintain a clear overview of the various aspects of the litigation at all
times:
- pleadings,
- discovery,
- documents received from the client,
- document productions made to and received from various parties,
- depositions noticed, actually taken and the affiliations of the respective witnesses,
- deposition exhibits,
and whatever other categories are appropriate for the particular litigation.
Although the indexing should be commenced as early as possible in the litigation, it does requires a
certain flexibility as adjustments may be required later on, depending on the progress of the litigation.
The use of similarly formatted Excel charts makes it easier and less time consuming to facilitate such
adjustments and combine or separate information as needed in case they are required.
8. Clear Roles and Responsibilities
Complex litigations require multiple paralegals working together as a team, possibly supported by
temporary staff, secretaries, or contract lawyers for document review, to cover all tasks in a timely
fashion. Be sure to assign back up coverage when a member of your team becomes the point person for
a particular task. In addition to being responsible for a particular segment of the case, each paralegal
should have enough flexibility to take on individual spot projects, assist colleagues, or work with the rest
of the team on projects requiring all hands on deck.
