The Tao of Discovery

Over two thousand years ago, the Chinese warrior-philosopher Sun-Tzu wrote a treatise on military strategy called “The Art of War.”  Since that time, this legendary text has become required reading throughout Asia.  Whether in business school, the armed forces, or in law school, you can be sure that every student is familiar with the fundamental principles of Sun-Tzu’s masterpiece.

“To win without fighting is best” is perhaps the one phrase that best describes the idea behind Sun-Tzu’s commentary.  According to this idea, wars are won or lost before the fighting even begins, and winning is a matter of both preparation and flexibility.  In the words of Sun-Tzu himself, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

Similarly, one can argue that cases are won or lost before going to trial, and that to win without going to trial is best.  The logical extension of Sun-Tzu’s strategy to litigation would be that cases are won or lost during discovery.  Experienced litigators would agree that winning is a matter of preparation and flexibility.

In terms of taking depositions, preparation is largely self-explanatory.  The deposing attorney comes equipped with a stack of exhibits and a notebook full of questions designed to elicit the facts necessary to prove their cause of action.  The second half of the equation is flexibility.

Flexibility simply means listening carefully to the deponent’s answers and asking follow-up questions as appropriate.  Realtime court reporting and live streaming of testimony provided by Planet Depos gives litigators the flexibility they need to win complex patent and other intellectual property cases by allowing them to see both the question and the answer in real time.  In other words, attorneys utilizing realtime court reporting can concentrate on the substance of the deponent’s testimony to formulate appropriate follow-up questions rather than be distracted by incidental matters.

The continuity of the realtime feed also means that attorneys can also scroll backward through the deponent’s testimony to find responses to earlier questions that require follow up.  By allowing attorneys to focus on what is important during the deposition, realtime court reporting ensures litigators have the flexibility they need to give them the winning edge before trial, when it matters most.

(Photos by Tom Feissner, Certified Legal Video Specialist, Planet Depos, Seoul, South Korea.)