Vondran Legal - Slay the Bar!  Discovery Tools 101

The Main Discovery Tools

1. Interrogatories
   Written questions answered under oath. Great for identifying witnesses, defenses, damages, factual contentions, and basic case information.
2. Requests for Production (RFPs)
   Requests for documents and tangible/electronic evidence—contracts, emails, texts, photos, videos, financial records, social-media content, databases, etc.
3. Requests for Admission (RFAs)
   Ask the opposing party to admit or deny specific facts or the genuineness of documents. These can dramatically narrow the issues for trial.
4. Depositions
   Live testimony under oath, usually transcribed by a court reporter and sometimes videotaped. This includes individual depositions and an important subcategory worth mentioning: corporate/organizational representative depositions (e.g., Rule 30(b)(6) in federal court).
5. Subpoenas / Third-Party Discovery
   Used to obtain testimony, documents, ESI, or other evidence from nonparties. This is important because sometimes the best evidence isn't controlled by either litigant.

I would add these to your Discovery 101 discussion:

6. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) / E-Discovery
   Technically this often falls under RFPs, but today it's important enough for its own segment. Think email, text messages, Slack/Teams messages, cloud files, metadata, databases, phone data, and social media.
7. Physical and Mental Examinations
   In federal practice, Rule 35 examinations can come into play when a party's physical or mental condition is genuinely in controversy. Particularly relevant in personal-injury and certain employment cases.
8. Inspection of Property / Things
   Discovery isn't limited to paper. Parties may seek inspection, photographing, testing, sampling, or examination of property, products, equipment, locations, computers, or other tangible evidence. Federal Rule 34 expressly encompasses designated land/property as well as documents, ESI, and tangible things.
9. Expert Discovery
   Expert reports, expert disclosures, expert depositions, and discovery concerning the bases for expert opinions deserve at least a mention. Experts can become a major discovery battlefield.
10. Initial Disclosures
    Under Federal Rule 26(a)(1), parties generally exchange certain information without waiting for formal discovery requests, subject to exceptions. This includes categories such as individuals likely to have discoverable information, documents/ESI a party may use to support claims or defenses, damages computations, and applicable insurance agreements.
11. Discovery Conferences / Discovery Plans
    For a true Discovery 101 overview, I'd briefly explain the Rule 26(f) meet-and-confer process and discovery planning. It gives viewers the important concept that discovery isn't simply lawyers firing requests at each other.
12. Duty to Preserve / Litigation Holds
    This isn't technically a “discovery device,” but I would absolutely include it. Once litigation is reasonably anticipated, preservation becomes critical. Deleted emails, destroyed texts, lost surveillance footage, wiped phones, etc. can create serious spoliation issues.