Discovery Meet-and-Confer Letter - Alaska

DISCOVERY MEET-AND-CONFER LETTER

(Initial Planning Conference Request — Pre-Dispute)

State of Alaska

[LAW FIRM LETTERHEAD]
[Firm Name]
[Address Line 1]
[Address Line 2]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Phone] | [Fax] | [Email]

[__/__/____]

VIA: ☐ Email ☐ U.S. Mail ☐ Overnight Courier ☐ Hand Delivery

[Opposing Counsel Name]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address Line 1]
[Address Line 2]
[City, State, ZIP]

Re: [Case Name], [Court Name], Case No. [________________________________] — Discovery Planning Conference under Alaska R. Civ. P. 26(f)

Dear [Opposing Counsel Name]:

PURPOSE OF THIS LETTER

We write on behalf of our client, [________________________________], pursuant to Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26(f), to initiate a discovery planning conference in the above-referenced matter. This letter is not a deficiency letter. Rather, it is sent in the spirit of cooperation and professional courtesy to establish an efficient framework for discovery before any disputes arise.

For cases subject to Rule 26(f), unless the court orders otherwise, the parties must meet as soon as practicable and at least 14 days before a scheduling conference is held or a scheduling order is due under Rule 16(b). At the meeting, the parties discuss their claims and defenses, possible resolution, disclosures, and a proposed discovery and alternative dispute resolution plan. They submit a written report of the plan to the Court within 10 days after the meeting. We should check the applicable scheduling order or local uniform pretrial order before setting a date.

We propose scheduling the Rule 26(f) conference at your earliest convenience. Please review this letter and the proposed agenda below before our meeting so that we can use conference time efficiently.

CURRENT CASE POSTURE

• Date Complaint Filed: [__/__/____]
• Date Answer Filed: [__/__/____]
• Scheduling Conference / Order Deadline: [__/__/____]
• Anticipated Trial Date: [__/__/____]
• Referral to ADR: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not yet scheduled

SECTION 1: INITIAL DISCLOSURES STATUS

In cases subject to Alaska Rule 26(a)(1), each party provides initial disclosures without awaiting a discovery request, except as otherwise directed by order or rule. Rule 26(f) directs the parties to make or arrange for those disclosures during the planning meeting. Please identify any order governing this case's disclosure timing.

☐ Party A has served initial disclosures on [__/__/____].
☐ Party A has not yet served initial disclosures (anticipated by [__/__/____]).
☐ Party B has served initial disclosures on [__/__/____].
☐ Party B has not yet served initial disclosures (anticipated by [__/__/____]).

Please confirm the status of your client's initial disclosures. If there are any categories we believe are inadequately addressed, we will discuss supplementation at the conference.

SECTION 2: PROPOSED DISCOVERY CONFERENCE AGENDA

We propose the following agenda for the Rule 26(f) conference. Please let us know if you would like to add or modify items:

A. Scope and Limits of Discovery

☐ Identification of key claims and defenses to focus discovery
☐ Whether discovery should be limited by subject matter, time period, or custodian
☐ Scope under Alaska R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) and limits under (b)(2)(A): relevance to the subject matter, issues at stake, parties' resources, importance of discovery, and burden/expense
☐ Discovery phasing: ☐ Yes (propose phases) ☐ No
☐ Identification of key documents and data sources likely to be relevant

B. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Protocol

☐ Identification of ESI custodians (anticipated count: [____] per side)
☐ Identification of data sources: ☐ Email ☐ Shared drives ☐ Mobile devices ☐ Cloud storage ☐ Databases ☐ Text/messaging apps ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Proposed production format: ☐ Native ☐ TIFF with load file ☐ PDF ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Metadata fields to be produced: [________________________________]
☐ De-duplication methodology
☐ Search term methodology (proposed initial terms attached or to be exchanged by [__/__/____])
☐ Date range for ESI collection: [________________________________]
☐ Agreement on a stipulated ESI protocol: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ To be negotiated

C. Privilege and Protective Order

☐ Anticipated privilege log format: ☐ Standard (date, author, recipient, subject, privilege basis) ☐ Categorical ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Proposed agreement on handling inadvertently produced privileged material and any requested court order: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Protective order for confidential/sensitive information: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ To be negotiated
☐ Proposed deadline to submit protective order to court: [__/__/____]
☐ Anticipated categories of sensitive information: ☐ Trade secrets ☐ Personal health information ☐ Personnel records ☐ Financial records ☐ Other: [________________________________]

D. Discovery Limits and Scheduling

Under Alaska Rules, the following default limits apply unless modified by the parties or court:

• Interrogatories: 30 served by one party upon another, including discrete subparts, absent leave or written stipulation (Alaska R. Civ. P. 33(a))
• Depositions: Rule 26(b)(2)(A) limitations may apply
• Requests for Production: Rule 26(b)(2)(A) limitations may apply

☐ Do the parties seek any changes to these limits? ☐ Yes — proposed modifications: [________________________________] ☐ No
☐ Proposed deposition schedule: [________________________________]
☐ Expert disclosure dates (initial / rebuttal): [__/__/____] / [__/__/____]
☐ Discovery cutoff: [__/__/____]

E. Deposition Scheduling

☐ Anticipated number of fact depositions per side: [____]
☐ Proposed deposition locations: [________________________________]
☐ Remote deposition agreements: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Deposition sequencing preferences: [________________________________]
☐ Organizational witness topics — anticipated: ☐ Yes ☐ No

F. Third-Party Discovery

☐ Anticipated subpoenas to third parties: ☐ Yes (identify: [________________________________]) ☐ No
☐ Agreement to provide advance notice of third-party subpoenas: ☐ Yes (notice period: [____] days) ☐ No

G. Stipulated Extensions and Case Management

☐ Any anticipated need for extensions of the discovery schedule: [________________________________]
☐ Agreement on a process for resolving discovery disputes without court intervention: [________________________________]
☐ Preference for discovery referee or special master: ☐ Yes ☐ No

H. Preservation

☐ Confirm that each party has implemented a litigation hold.
☐ Identify any data sources that have been or may be subject to automatic deletion or overwriting.
☐ Agreement on supplemental preservation obligations going forward.

SECTION 3: PROPOSED DATES FOR CONFERENCE

We are available for the Rule 26(f) conference on the following dates and times. Please confirm your availability or propose alternative times:

Option 1: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M [Time Zone: ____]
Option 2: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M [Time Zone: ____]
Option 3: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M [Time Zone: ____]

Preferred conference format: ☐ Telephone ☐ Video conference ☐ In person at: [________________________________]

SECTION 4: DISCOVERY PLAN — ANTICIPATED SUBMISSION

After our Rule 26(f) conference, Alaska R. Civ. P. 26(f) requires the parties to submit a written report of the discovery plan to the court within 10 days. We propose that the following party/counsel draft the report for joint review:

Drafting responsibility: ☐ Our firm ☐ Your firm ☐ Joint drafting

We request that you review the proposed agenda above and be prepared to discuss each item. If you have proposed modifications to any of the agenda items or wish to add additional topics, please advise us in writing by [__/__/____], at least [____] days before the conference.

SECTION 5: REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

Please respond to this letter no later than [__/__/____] ([____] days from the date of this letter) to confirm: (a) your availability for the discovery conference; (b) any modifications to the proposed agenda; and (c) the status of your client's initial disclosures.

We look forward to cooperating with you to develop an efficient discovery plan in this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]
[Bar Number: ____________________]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address]
[Phone] | [Email]
Counsel for [________________________________]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], a true and correct copy of the foregoing Discovery Meet-and-Confer Letter was served upon the following by the method indicated:

☐ Electronic mail to: [________________________________]
☐ U.S. First Class Mail, postage prepaid, to: [________________________________]
☐ Other: [________________________________]

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]

ATTACHMENT CHECKLIST

☐ Attachment A — Proposed ESI Search Terms (if available)
☐ Attachment B — Proposed Stipulated Protective Order (draft)
☐ Attachment C — Proposed Clawback/Non-Waiver Agreement (draft)
☐ Attachment D — Draft Discovery Plan (for pre-conference review)

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26: https://courts.alaska.gov/rules/docs/civ.pdf
• Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 16: https://courts.alaska.gov/rules/docs/civ.pdf
• Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 33: https://courts.alaska.gov/rules/docs/civ.pdf