Welcome to Lawshelf’s video-course on discovery in civil litigation. This course focuses on the discovery process in civil litigation, by which parties conduct their investigations and find evidence to be used at trial. This is an introductory level course and no prior experience or knowledge of civil procedure is necessary.

We start with an overview of discovery basics. We will look at the goals behind the discovery rules and the timing of the process. We will also look at Rule 26 of the federal rules of civil procedure and its mandatory disclosures that get the discovery process going.

We will next look at the protections of the privilege and work product rules against certain discovery requests. We will focus on many varieties of privileges, including attorney-client, spousal and doctor-patient. Our work-product discussion will include the all-important “substantial need” exception.

Next, we will turn to discovery devices. Modules 3 and 4 look at depositions, which are among the most important ways attorneys investigate in preparation for civil litigation. We will discuss deposition rules, deposition procedure and oral and written depositions. We will also discuss when and under what circumstances deposition testimony can be used at trial.

Other discovery devices are covered in modules 5 and 6. These include interrogatories, requests for production of documents, physical and mental examinations and requests for admission. We will go through each of these devices and explain when they are used and how they are handled under the rules of civil procedure.

At the completion of this course, you should have a comprehensive understanding of the discovery process, its rules and purposes and the mechanisms by which the discovery devices are carried out.

Best of luck and we welcome your feedback.