Business litigation attorneys surely deal with this issue on a constant basis: They are asked to analyze an important lawsuit against their client but are not given all of the client’s documents. Help your attorney. As soon as you retain an attorney, make an effort to compile all of the relevant documents that will help your attorney analyze your lawsuit. The quality of the advice from your attorney will depend on the thoroughness of the information you provide him or her.
What are the relevant documents that you should provide to your attorney? Business litigation is usually document intensive. Ask your attorney what documents he or she would like you to produce. However, often you have more information than your attorney at the outset and you are in a good position to decide what is relevant to the lawsuit.
Breach of contract lawsuits: Obviously the contract is an important document. Asking a breach of contract attorney to analyze a breach of contract lawsuit without providing the contract does not make sense. However, there are often amendments, modifications, forbearance agreements and other subsequent documents that you must give to your attorney. Breach of contract lawsuits also often involve payments. If you were the party making the payments, you must provide your attorney with all of your evidence showing your payments, including ledgers, cancelled checks, bank statements, invoices, receipts and more. While this is time consuming, your attorney will be better able to represent you if you present him or her with an organized set of documents.
Breach of fiduciary duty lawsuits: Like a breach of contract lawsuit, these actions often involve a partnership agreement or other contract between the parties. This is the foundation for your entire claim. Fiduciary duty lawsuits also usually involve accountings. Make sure to give your attorney all of the financial information relating to the alleged breach.
For all lawsuits make sure that you provide your litigation attorney with all of your communication with the opposing party and even third parties who are involved. This can be time consuming but can also be the most important part of your case. Make sure to check all of your emails and text messages and provide them to your attorney.
While many cases involve additional types of documents, make sure that you provide your litigation attorney with all of your contracts, communications and accounting related information. Lastly, the more organized you are, the more easily your attorney will be able to review the information and provide you with a quicker analysis of your case.