Informal Investigation

Informal investigation includes all information-gathering that you can do on your own, working with cooperative people or organizations both before and after a lawsuit is filed. Informal investigation encompasses such activities as:

• conducting informal interviews
  
  
• collecting documents
  
  
• taking photographs (of damaged property, accident sites, or other pertinent objects or locales), and
  
  
• finding out about an adversary's insurance coverage.
  
  

Formal Discovery

Formal discovery is a legal process that kicks in after a case has been filed. Formal discovery encompasses a number of investigatory tools, including:

• Interrogatories -- written questions directed to the adversary that the adversary must answer in writing and under oath.
  
  
• Depositions -- oral in-person questions that the adversary or another person must answer under oath.
  
  
• Request for Production of Documents -- a request for a particular document or class of documents likely to be relevant to your case.
  
  
• Requests for Admissions -- a written statement you serve on your opponent in an effort to get your adversary to agree that certain facts are true or documents are genuine.