What Does Document Review Mean in Commercial Litigation?
A Conshohocken commercial litigation lawyer provides representation if your company is suing someone or is being sued. Your attorney helps you throughout the entire process of resolving your disagreement within the civil court system. Whether you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit, a breach of contract claim, a fraud case, an intellectual property case, an employment dispute, or any type of business litigation, having the right representation is key to being able to build a strong case and make solid arguments.
One of the areas in which your attorney provides assistance is with the discovery process. The discovery process facilitates the exchange of information between plaintiffs and defendants so each of the parties to a dispute can obtain necessary evidence and information to make arguments. There are many different parts of the discovery process, including the exchange of documents. Once the documents have been exchanged, document review becomes essential.
Curley & Rothman, LLC is a Conshohocken law firm with extensive experience in commercial litigation. Our attorneys have the experience to help you through the discovery process, including document review. Give us a call today to schedule a consultation and to learn more about what is involved in preparing for litigation and how we can help you to make the strongest case possible.
What Does Document Review Mean in Your Case?
According to Pennsylvania Code Rule 4003.1, subject to rules set forth in other relevant code sections: "a party [involved in litigation] may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or to the claim or defense of any other party, including the existence, description, nature, content, custody, condition and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of any discoverable matter."
The discovery process involves the plaintiff and defendant providing information to each other about witnesses who will be testifying in the case and other evidence that will be introduced. Plaintiffs and defendants have the opportunity during discovery to interview each other's witnesses, to ask for certain relevant information from each other, and to review relevant evidence.
In today's world, and especially in business litigation, much of the evidence that is relevant in business litigation cases is in the form of documents. This could include emails, written memorandums, corporate records, accounting records, and a host of other paperwork that is generated during the course of doing business. All of the different documents that are produced that are related to the subject of the litigation could potentially have relevant information that is helpful to plaintiffs or to defendants who are trying to make their case.
Since typical businesses produce so many documents, the exchange of documents during discovery can sometimes mean that plaintiffs and defendants are each looking at hundreds or even thousands of pages of paper related to the civil case. The documents are not always organized in a way that is easy to examine, and sometimes there is information that could be relevant to a case which is buried deep within documents. The document review process is about going over all of the information provided with a fine tooth comb to find relevant evidence that could be useful during a case.
There are services that specialize specifically in document review, which can allow for lower legal costs under certain circumstances. Outsourcing document review may make sense in some situations when there is large-scale commercial litigation and/or when there are substantial amounts of documents that must be reviewed. Law firms can also handle document review in-house for their clients, depending upon the situation. However document review is completed, it is essential that it be done properly so no relevant evidence is missed that could be helpful to a client's case.
How Can a Conshohocken Commercial Litigation Lawyer Help?
A Conshohocken commercial litigation lawyer at Curley & Rothman, LLC can provide help to plaintiffs and defendants involved in litigation. Our legal team represents both plaintiffs and defendants who are suing or who are being sued in connection with business activities. As we prepare for your case, we ensure that document review is comprehensive and that all of the details that could be obtained from the documents and used to your benefit are uncovered.
To learn more about document review and about how a commercial litigation lawyer can provide invaluable assistance in preparing for trial, give us a call at 610-834-8819. You can also contact us today to schedule your consultation and learn more about how we can help with your case.