Subpoenaed. Legal advice por favor?

**hutash** · 12-19-2018, 05:02 PM

Repeat after me..."To the best of my recollection." Begin and end every answer to every question with that....I learned that from Trump's lawyers.

Actually the only thing I learned from my one and only deposition is only answer the question. Do not add anything, don't discuss anything, just answer the question as simply as possible, preferably with a yes or no.

**old goat** · 12-19-2018, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by Conundrum

Follow up... I'm impatient and a bit of a gunslinger so I called the plaintiff's attorney and asked them what documentation they were really looking for as the subpoena was vague. I don't have any exposure other than maybe a contempt charge for not responding. The attorney was cool and asked for minimal info which is a lot different than what our corporate attorney told me to provide. I will probably get an ass chewing from my corporate attorney but that's okay. A stern talking to is better than sifting through 12 years of emails, printing, and then rescanning into one file.

Wait a second? You have a corporate attorney on this? Let the corporate attorney put the records together. Tell him you're not comfortable because you don't want to disclose trade secrets or some bullshit like that. (Or do what you already did.)

**irul&ublo** · 12-19-2018, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by Conundrum

Just got my first subpoena. I'm not in trouble but someone I used to do some business with is. Do I redact all the profanity I used in the emails I'm printing or leave it for comic affect? Do they really need every email? Chances of being called to testified or maybe just deposition? The trial is in another state. I realize it's probably case specific...I'm trying to mentally prepare for what's next. I have to submit by the 14th. I'm not a fan of the defendant but I also don't have a dog in the fight at this point. Also not going to post any case details.

1. State of federal court? And if state, what state?

2. Deposition or trial?

3. Testimony or records only?

4. If not in fed court, and the matter is in another state, did a commission or order from a court in your state issue?

5. How were you served?

**irul&ublo** · 12-19-2018, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Conundrum

Follow up... I'm impatient and a bit of a gunslinger so I called the plaintiff's attorney and asked them what documentation they were really looking for as the subpoena was vague. I don't have any exposure other than maybe a contempt charge for not responding. The attorney was cool and asked for minimal info which is a lot different than what our corporate attorney told me to provide. I will probably get an ass chewing from my corporate attorney but that's okay. A stern talking to is better than sifting through 12 years of emails, printing, and then rescanning into one file.

Wait... you have a lawyer, but you chose, on your own, to call the pltf atty. Brilliant. You are not impatient and a gunslinger, you are someone who should ride the short bus.

**fatnslow** · 12-19-2018, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by Conundrum

Follow up... I'm impatient and a bit of a gunslinger so I called the plaintiff's attorney and asked them what documentation they were really looking for as the subpoena was vague. I don't have any exposure other than maybe a contempt charge for not responding. The attorney was cool and asked for minimal info which is a lot different than what our corporate attorney told me to provide. I will probably get an ass chewing from my corporate attorney but that's okay. A stern talking to is better than sifting through 12 years of emails, printing, and then rescanning into one file.

You'll get your ass chewed all right, you probably just cost that guy 10 hours of billable time to your company. Now he'll have to resort to buying his lady a knock off Gucci bag on ebay for xmas.

**Danno** · 12-19-2018, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by irul&ublo

Wait... you have a lawyer, but you chose, on your own, to call the pltf atty. Brilliant. You are not impatient and a gunslinger, you are someone who should ride the short bus.

he hasn't responded, but I think he's probably an independent contractor, and that attorney isn't really "his".

**Conundrum** · 12-19-2018, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by Danno

you have a corporate atty? are they representing you? or are you an independent contractor and they are not your attorney?

W2 employee. Corporate attorney emailed and asked what was going on. I explained and she said print all correspondence and docs, scan into a file, and send to plaintiff's attorney. I spent a couple hours doing it and got bored. Probably had another 12-14 hours. My employer received the subpoena, not me personally but it involved someone I had a relationship so it landed on my desk so I guess I'm the PMK as mentioned above.

Originally Posted by wyeaster

isn't this a pretty big no-no from your corporation's pov.

Indeed. And if they want to respond to the subpoena they were named in (not me), they can spend the time with IT to filter my emails, print and scan them.

Originally Posted by char_

Uh...I don't know shit about depositions, but I know printing electronic documents and then scanning them is dumb.

Print to PDF and E-staple the PDFs together.

Agreed. That is our IT departments job and they are mediocre.

Originally Posted by Skistack

Is it a corporate email address? Do you have an IT dept? They should be able to filter all your emails for the defendant's name and save them to a dropbox for the plaintiff's attorney.

See above mediocrity in this department.

Originally Posted by old goat

Wait a second? You have a corporate attorney on this? Let the corporate attorney put the records together. Tell him you're not comfortable because you don't want to disclose trade secrets or some bullshit like that. (Or do what you already did.)

I left my attorney and the plaintiff's attorney a message at the same time to try both approaches. Whoever called back first won and it was the plaintiff's. Turns out, they didn't really know what they were asking for so I jedi mind tricked them into asking for the bare minimum and they said that was cool. A few emailed pdf's later and they are satisfied for now.

Originally Posted by irul&ublo

1. State of federal court? And if state, what state?

2. Deposition or trial?

3. Testimony or records only?

4. If not in fed court, and the matter is in another state, did a commission or order from a court in your state issue?

5. How were you served?

Originally Posted by flowing alpy

seattle-ish

1. State. Western zone. I think some people on here probably know about the suit or at least the situation.

2. Not sure. Looked like just a records request and attorney said there was slim to no chance it would be anything more than that.

3. Hopefully just records.

4. Yes.

5. Not sure. Employer received and it was emailed to me.

**Conundrum** · 12-19-2018, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by irul&ublo

Wait... you have a lawyer, but you chose, on your own, to call the pltf atty. Brilliant. You are not impatient and a gunslinger, you are someone who should ride the short bus.

Probably so. My attorney wasn't interested in directing me. She didn't even ask to review before sending my response and told me to send it directly to the plaintiff's attorney. She told me to send what I sent plus about another 400 docs. I called the plaintiff's attorney and asked what he was really looking for as the term he used in his subpoena isn't a term we use in our industry. He told me what he wanted so I sent it. Look, I called the corp attorney first and asked what I should be doing. She then told me to spend what would probably amount to 2-3 work days going through emails and determine what to scan over to the plaintiff. I'm not paid to talk to attorneys in this situation but she gave me the go ahead to correspond directly or so it seems (told me to send direct without her review). Seemed dicey. Who knows, maybe I'll be called to give deposition and testimony, maybe not. But the lady our company employs doesn't want to review, I'm not going to do all the work if I don't have to.

**irul&ublo** · 12-19-2018, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by Conundrum

W2 employee. Corporate attorney emailed and asked what was going on. I explained and she said print all correspondence and docs, scan into a file, and send to plaintiff's attorney. I spent a couple hours doing it and got bored. Probably had another 12-14 hours. My employer received the subpoena, not me personally but it involved someone I had a relationship so it landed on my desk so I guess I'm the PMK as mentioned above.

Indeed. And if they want to respond to the subpoena they were named in (not me), they can spend the time with IT to filter my emails, print and scan them.

Agreed. That is our IT departments job and they are mediocre.

See above mediocrity in this department.

I left my attorney and the plaintiff's attorney a message at the same time to try both approaches. Whoever called back first won and it was the plaintiff's. Turns out, they didn't really know what they were asking for so I jedi mind tricked them into asking for the bare minimum and they said that was cool. A few emailed pdf's later and they are satisfied for now.

1. State. Western zone. I think some people on here probably know about the suit or at least the situation.

2. Not sure. Looked like just a records request and attorney said there was slim to no chance it would be anything more than that.

3. Hopefully just records.

4. Yes.

5. Not sure. Employer received and it was emailed to me.

OK, to be clear; 1. you were not subpoenaed....your employer was. 2. Your job is to do what your employer asks you to do, not what you think the subpoena requires. 3. Your atty says send them everything w/o, apparently, any review or screening on his or her part...also brilliant.

Is this your company's lawyer?

**Cono Este** · 12-19-2018, 06:16 PM

Not a lawyer, but curious what the lawyers think?

What’s the worse that happens if you just blow it off? A court sanction in another state?

I subpoenaed named defendants, and even local businesses that were western union agents in my lawsuit. and by not showing up they just sanctioned them 1000 bucks and I won the motions.

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**AK47bp** · 12-19-2018, 06:21 PM

Much ado about nothing

**Conundrum** · 12-19-2018, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by irul&ublo

OK, to be clear; 1. you were not subpoenaed....your employer was. 2. Your job is to do what your employer asks you to do, not what you think the subpoena requires. 3. Your atty says send them everything w/o, apparently, any review or screening on his or her part...also brilliant.

Is this your company's lawyer?

Yeah, I guess my employer was subpoenaed-it's their name on it. I've never been. It was emailed to me by our legal department and I was asked to put together the info and forward. I made an assumption that it was me being subpoenaed because why would they have me do their job. Once again, something new to me. My mistake for calling the plaintiff's attorney but it was really a shit ton of correspondence that my attorney asked me to dig through plus there are what seemed a lot of unrelated work to the case and when I was told "everything", it seemed weird.

On point 2, I couldn't even think of what I thought the subpoena required because it is a term that we don't use. I just wanted to know what he actually wanted. He told me. It was a very simple question and it made sense after talking. Remember, I ride the short bus, simple questions, simple answers. I was prepared to say I'd have to consult with our corp attorney if he asked me anything other just responding with the info he is looking for..

Nothing against you law dogs but I try to avoid speaking with attorneys unless they're friends and we're hanging out for fun.

In this situation, I just wanted a simple answer. If he asked for more than he did, I'd have called IT and the corp attorney and tell them it looked like it was time for them to get to work.

Originally Posted by AK47bp

Much ado about nothing

Actually, yes. I think so. I fucked up by calling the plaintiff's attorney. My bad.

**BCMtnHound** · 12-19-2018, 06:40 PM

Never been subpoenaed, but have gone through a couple of freedom of info requests. Same deal, very broad and vague requests for emails and other documents. Spent days sorting through the search terms, then the time to export and clip into a pdf. In no single instance did they get what they were looking for, which I can only suspect was some sort of smoking gun. It’s like they think we regularly share libellous/slanderous material on individuals for shits and giggles, or outright lie and commit fraud in large complex contracts. But the attorneys make bank, so I guess all is right in the world.

**AK47bp** · 12-19-2018, 06:42 PM

Great reminder to destroy records after the required retention period expires.

Can't subpoena things that don't exist.

**El Chupacabra** · 12-19-2018, 06:47 PM

C - was the communication from your company's corporate lawyer in writing? (the one that told you to assemble docs and forward them straight to the lawyer who served the subpoena)

Keep that document. Print out the email, whatever it was. It's your CYA.

There is no way I would ever tell an employee to just gather up stuff and send it over. That has to get screened by counsel first.

And don't communicate directly with opposing counsel any more. Even though your in-house Corp counsel told you to, don't do it. Send whatever you gather to in house and let them deal with it.

**Conundrum** · 12-19-2018, 06:53 PM

Yes, email from my attorney saying put everything together and send it. Lesson learned here.

**Art Shirk** · 12-19-2018, 06:57 PM

(1) PM Rontele
(2) PM commonlaw
(3) Garnish their wages.

Good luck, N

**El Chupacabra** · 12-19-2018, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by Conundrum

Yes, email from my attorney saying put everything together and send it. Lesson learned here.

Print that out and keep it at home.

But still, don't send anything directly to the lawyer who subpoenaed the company. Send all that to your in-house corp counsel. Let them edit/ filter. If they just forward along 100% of what you pulled together, and you included something you shouldn't have, it's the lawyer's ass on the line. Not your responsibility.

**bigdude2468** · 12-19-2018, 08:11 PM

With it being in another state what happens if you ignore the subpoena?

**fastfred** · 12-19-2018, 10:11 PM

Here is my advice since I like to spend time with courts and Lawyers

Act stupid. Not Billy bob dumb but slightly confused. Works like a charm.

Follow everything everyone says. Use your best listening skills and memorization. Focus. When the lawyer fucks w you zing them back w something they said a few minutes ago. Law is all about finding inconsistencies.

Back to being stupid. I used to be an actor. Acting is gold in a court room. Acting is all about using motivation and feelings from past experience. I count ceiling tiles switches and electric outlets to help create the illusion of confusion and lack of memory. Sometimes I stare at lawyers clothing and look for patterns. They wonder why you are lookin at them but not making eye contact. It makes them uneasy.

Almost had a judge catch onto what I was doing once.

Never lie. If you need to lie go back to confusion. Confusion can create denial which is truthful lieing.

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**wyeaster** · 12-19-2018, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by Art Shirk

(1) PM Rontele
(2) PM commonlaw
(3) Garnish their wages.

Good luck, N

i bet this guy can help!

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**old goat** · 12-19-2018, 10:52 PM

Better call Saul.

**Flyoverland Captive** · 12-19-2018, 11:40 PM

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**highangle** · 12-20-2018, 12:58 AM

Originally Posted by AustinFromSA

This. This right here. Do not do a thing until then. I got subpoenaed and deposed not that long ago, also for something that was not my deal.

Thankfully, my lawyer saved me a TON of time and hassle by informing me of what was and wasn't ACTUALLY subject for me to reproduce for the plaintiff's attorney. So in the end, I didn't have that much information to cough up, and really didn't have much of substance at all. Didn't hurt or help anybody. I ended up being about as neutral of a party as possible, so I'm sure it was just a huge waste of the plaintiff's money in the end.

Another reason to talk to a lawyer is that they can help you if you're out of state. I was in Montana when I got deposed for a Texas case. He pretty much just proposed to the plaintiff's attorney that since I was out of state if we could do it over the phone from a local attorney's office, to which they agreed. I ended up not needing to do that since I was able to make it after all, but honestly in the end I learned that the deposition, while sometimes meant to be intimidating or get some dirt they need, wasn't a big deal at all. I just told the truth, which is always the easiest thing to do, answered the questions concisely and to the point. Booooooring is all it was. I think their attorney was super frustrated with me, but mine was proud of me. Lol. I hate getting somehow wrapped up in other people's problems. Especially when I actively try to avoid that sort of nonsense to begin with. The whole thing made me want to smack both parties upside the head!

You could be Hillary.

**neufox47** · 12-20-2018, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by fastfred

Here is my advice since I like to spend time with courts and Lawyers

Act stupid. Not Billy bob dumb but slightly confused. Works like a charm.

Follow everything everyone says. Use your best listening skills and memorization. Focus. When the lawyer fucks w you zing them back w something they said a few minutes ago. Law is all about finding inconsistencies.

Back to being stupid. I used to be an actor. Acting is gold in a court room. Acting is all about using motivation and feelings from past experience. I count ceiling tiles switches and electric outlets to help create the illusion of confusion and lack of memory. Sometimes I stare at lawyers clothing and look for patterns. They wonder why you are lookin at them but not making eye contact. It makes them uneasy.

Almost had a judge catch onto what I was doing once.

Never lie. If you need to lie go back to confusion. Confusion can create denial which is truthful lieing.

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

Fucking Fastfred just won the thread. I’d love to watch you and Irul discuss law over a couple beers.