Discovery Meet-and-Confer Letter

DISCOVERY MEET-AND-CONFER LETTER

(Initial Planning Conference Request — Pre-Dispute)

State of Alabama

[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 — Alabama R. Civ. P. 26(f)

Dear [Opposing Counsel Name]:

PURPOSE OF THIS LETTER

We write on behalf of our client, [________________________________], pursuant to Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26(f), to initiate a discovery planning conference in the above-referenced matter. This letter is not a discovery deficiency letter. Its purpose is to proactively establish an efficient and cooperative framework for discovery before any disputes arise.

Alabama Rule 26(f) requires the parties — at least 14 days before a scheduling conference is held or a scheduling order is due under Rule 16(b) — to meet and confer to: (1) consider the nature and basis of their claims and defenses and the possibility for a prompt settlement or resolution; (2) make or arrange for initial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1); and (3) develop a proposed discovery plan. A written report of the plan must be submitted to the Court within 10 days after the parties' meeting.

We request that you contact our office to schedule the Rule 26(f) conference at your earliest convenience. We propose a detailed agenda below to facilitate a productive meeting.

CURRENT CASE POSTURE

• Date Complaint Filed: [__/__/____]
• Date Answer Filed: [__/__/____]
• Scheduling Conference / Order Deadline: [__/__/____]
• Anticipated Trial Date: [__/__/____]
• Mediation/ADR: ☐ Scheduled for [__/__/____] ☐ Not yet scheduled ☐ Not applicable

SECTION 1: INITIAL DISCLOSURES STATUS

Alabama Rule 26(a)(1) requires each party to make initial disclosures. These disclosures must include: (i) individuals likely to have discoverable information; (ii) a copy or description of all documents and ESI the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses; (iii) a computation of each category of damages claimed; and (iv) any applicable insurance policies.

☐ 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 [__/__/____]).

We request confirmation of your client's initial disclosures timeline. If there are any categories that appear incomplete, we would prefer to resolve any issues informally at the conference rather than through motion practice.

SECTION 2: PROPOSED DISCOVERY CONFERENCE AGENDA

We propose the following agenda for the Rule 26(f) conference and invite your input on any modifications:

A. Claims, Defenses, and Early Resolution

☐ Brief overview of each party's principal claims and defenses
☐ Discussion of any threshold legal issues that might streamline or resolve the case early
☐ ADR/settlement possibilities and timing
☐ Whether a joint statement or agreed scheduling order is feasible

B. Scope and Proportionality of Discovery

☐ Relevant time period for discovery: [________________________________]
☐ Key custodians and data sources
☐ Anticipated discovery topics and categories
☐ Proportionality: relevance, parties' resources, amount in controversy, importance of issues
☐ Whether to phase discovery (e.g., liability before damages): ☐ Yes ☐ No

C. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Protocol

Alabama's Rules of Civil Procedure address ESI in the same framework as paper discovery. Proactively addressing ESI format and scope avoids costly disputes.

☐ Identification of ESI custodians (anticipated count: [____] per side)
☐ Data sources: ☐ Email (platform: [____]) ☐ Shared drives ☐ Mobile/text messages ☐ Cloud storage ☐ CRM/ERP databases ☐ Social media ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Production format: ☐ Native ☐ TIFF with extracted text and load file ☐ PDF ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Metadata: standard fields to be produced (e.g., date created, modified, author, recipient)
☐ De-duplication: ☐ Global ☐ Per-custodian ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Proposed ESI search terms — exchange by [__/__/____]
☐ Date range for ESI collection: [________________________________]
☐ Stipulated ESI protocol: ☐ To be negotiated ☐ Use court model order (if available)

D. Privilege Log and Protective Order

☐ Privilege log format: ☐ Document-by-document ☐ Categorical ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Required privilege log fields: date, author, recipient, subject, type, privilege basis, privilege holder
☐ Clawback/inadvertent disclosure agreement: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Protective order for confidential information: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Use Alabama standard form
☐ Proposed deadline to submit protective order: [__/__/____]
☐ Categories of sensitive information anticipated: ☐ Trade secrets ☐ PHI/HIPAA ☐ Personnel records ☐ Financial records ☐ Other: [________________________________]

E. Discovery Limits and Scheduling

Alabama Rule 33 limits interrogatories to 40 per party (including subparts) absent court order or stipulation. Depositions are generally limited by the court's scheduling order.

☐ Proposed interrogatory limit: ☐ Default (40) ☐ Modified: [____] per party
☐ Proposed deposition limit: ☐ Default ☐ Modified: [____] fact depositions per side
☐ Proposed RFP limit: ☐ No limit ☐ Modified: [____] RFPs per party
☐ Discovery cutoff: [__/__/____]
☐ Expert disclosure: initial [__/__/____] / rebuttal [__/__/____]

F. Deposition Scheduling and Logistics

☐ Anticipated fact depositions: [____] per side
☐ Preferred deposition locations: [________________________________]
☐ Remote depositions: ☐ Agreed ☐ Not agreed ☐ Case-by-case
☐ 30(b)(6) corporate representative depositions anticipated: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Proposed sequence of depositions: [________________________________]

G. Third-Party Discovery

☐ Anticipated third-party subpoenas: ☐ Yes (identify: [________________________________]) ☐ No
☐ Advance notice of third-party subpoenas: [____] days' notice agreed
☐ Coordination on third-party productions

H. Preservation Obligations

☐ Confirm each party has implemented a litigation hold covering relevant ESI and paper documents.
☐ Identify any data sources subject to scheduled deletion, overwriting, or archiving.
☐ Agreement to notify the other party before altering any preservation hold.

I. Case Management and Dispute Resolution

☐ Agree on informal meet-and-confer process before filing any discovery motion: ☐ Letter ☐ Phone ☐ Video
☐ Timing for follow-up conferences if issues arise
☐ Interest in discovery referee or special master: ☐ Yes ☐ No

SECTION 3: PROPOSED DATES FOR CONFERENCE

We are available for the Rule 26(f) conference on the following dates and times:

Option 1: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (CT)
Option 2: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (CT)
Option 3: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (CT)

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

SECTION 4: DISCOVERY PLAN SUBMISSION

Following our Rule 26(f) conference, we must jointly submit a written discovery plan to the Court within 10 days. The plan should address: (1) any changes to timing, form, or requirement for disclosures; (2) subjects on which discovery may be needed; (3) any need to conduct discovery in phases; (4) any issues regarding disclosure, discovery, or preservation of ESI; (5) any issues regarding claims of privilege; (6) any changes to limitations on discovery imposed by the Rules; and (7) any other orders the court should issue.

Drafting responsibility for the joint plan: ☐ Our firm ☐ Your firm ☐ Joint effort

SECTION 5: REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

Please respond to this letter no later than [__/__/____] ([____] days from the date of this letter) to:

1. Confirm your availability for the discovery conference on one of the proposed dates;
2. Identify any additions or modifications to the proposed agenda; and
3. Advise on the status of your client's initial disclosures.

We are committed to handling discovery cooperatively and efficiently. We hope this letter demonstrates our good faith and look forward to working with you toward an agreed discovery plan.

Respectfully submitted,

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

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____], a copy of the foregoing was served by the following method upon:

[Opposing Counsel Name], [Law Firm], [Address]

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

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]

ATTACHMENTS

☐ Attachment A — Proposed ESI Search Terms
☐ Attachment B — Draft Stipulated Protective Order
☐ Attachment C — Draft Clawback/Non-Waiver Agreement
☐ Attachment D — Draft Discovery Plan

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure: https://judicial.alabama.gov/
• Alabama Rule 26 (Discovery): https://judicial.alabama.gov/
• Alabama local court rules (circuit-specific): consult applicable circuit court website