Discovery Meet-and-Confer Letter

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. [________________________________]
Re: Request for Discovery Planning Conference Pursuant to 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.

Alaska Rule 26(f) requires the parties, as soon as practicable after the exchange of initial disclosures and in any event at least 14 days before a scheduling conference or scheduling order deadline under Rule 16(b), to meet and confer to discuss the nature and basis of their claims and defenses, the possibilities for early resolution, and a proposed discovery plan. The parties must then submit a written report of their discovery plan to the Court within 10 days after the meeting.

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

Alaska Rule 26(a)(1) requires each party to make initial disclosures without awaiting a discovery request. Disclosures are generally due within 45 days after the filing of the answer, unless otherwise ordered.

☐ 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 Proportionality of Discovery

☐ Identification of key claims and defenses to focus discovery
☐ Whether discovery should be limited by subject matter, time period, or custodian
☐ Proportionality considerations under Alaska R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1): relevance, importance of issues at stake, parties' resources, importance of discovery in resolving the issues, 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: [________________________________]
☐ Clawback agreement (Fed. R. Evid. 502(d) equivalent): ☐ Yes — to be memorialized in stipulated order ☐ 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 per party (Alaska R. Civ. P. 33)
- Depositions: No express default limit, but proportionality applies
- Requests for Production: No express limit, but proportionality applies

☐ Do the parties agree to the default limits? ☐ Yes ☐ No — proposed modifications: [________________________________]
☐ 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: [________________________________]
☐ 30(b)(6) 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 and proportionate 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 Discovery Law Overview: https://evidence.uslegal.com/discovery/alaska-discovery-law/