At the outset of a lawsuit, an experienced attorney will formulate a discovery strategy that is geared toward learning as much as possible about who the opposing party's trial witnesses will be, what their testimony will consist of, and what documents they will offer to support their claims. We assume that attorneys possess an exhaustive knowledge base in many fields, yet for some legal cases, attorneys have little grasp of the interdisciplinary clockwork of the industry, such as how public schools operate day-to-day. In such instances, an outside expert, like "The Safety Doc" can be used to help a client and his or her attorney gain a better understanding of how best to present a successful case. DISCLAIMER. I am not an attorney. This show isn't legal advice. It's a compilation of personal experiences related to cases that I reviewed as a consult expert or expert legal witness. This show is also informed by personal research to help inform my own professional opinions. WHAT IS DISCOVERY? "Discovery" is a legal term of art that consists of several tools that are used to uncover facts relevant to the various claims and defenses at issue in the case. The parties are permitted to discover relevant facts through three main types of written discovery (1) Interrogatories (2) Requests for Production of Documents, & (3) Requests for Admissions. WHAT ARE DEPOSITIONS? Depositions are questions of witnesses and typically don't take place in courtrooms. The attorneys will ask the witness, or deponent, a series of questions about facts and events related to the lawsuit with the entire deposition recorded word-for-word by a court reporter or videotaped. All parties to the case may attend the deposition and a deponent often has his or her attorney present, albeit with a more limited role than the attorney would have in a courtroom. WHAT IS BENCHMARKING? Benchmarking is comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. In education, this approach is often flawed as it is near impossible to compare schools. WHAT I DO. As a consulting expert or expert witness, I determine viability of a case, and if so, prioritize strategies. I recognize my own strengths, ways to become informed, identify my limitations and assemble discovery requests and deposition questions. Much time is spent to analyze and summarizing documents from discovery and depositions. RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU. Act in the best interest of yourself or others given the context and situation. If you are in a position to train, then training materials and a list of persons that attended the training. Finally, always document with timestamps and maintain copies in electronic and paper. If you have questions about your job duties, ask a superior and if a satisfactory response isn’t provided, use emails and letters to seek clarification from those you deem as superiors. FORMATS. You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t... or SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/user-186592129 or on The 405 Media http://the405media.com/the-safety-doc/ You can view this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/QjdoT68NNc4 FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: On Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to “The Safety Doc” YouTube channel and SoundCloud RSS feed. DR. PERRODIN'S SAFETY BLOG: https://crisisprepconsulting.wordpres... SAFETY DOC WEBSITE: www.safetyphd.com David will respond to discussion thread comments or questions & also to emails. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host and guests and do not reflect positions of The 405 Media or supporters of “The Safety Doc Podcast”. The show is curse free and adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse and debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. Email David: thesafetydoc@gmail.com
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