A paralegal is assisting an attorney with a complex personal injury case involving multiple defendants. During the discovery phase, the paralegal receives a request for production of documents from an opposing counsel that includes a demand for the client's complete medical history, including records unrelated to the specific injury in question. What is the paralegal's most appropriate initial step?
- AReview the request to determine if it is overly broad or seeks privileged/irrelevant information, then flag concerns for the attorney.
- BCommunicate directly with opposing counsel to negotiate a narrower scope for the medical records request.
- CRedact any clearly irrelevant medical information from the records before providing them to the attorney.
- DGather all requested medical records and prepare them for production to avoid discovery disputes.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Review the request to determine if it is overly broad or seeks privileged/irrelevant information, then flag concerns for the attorney.
Discovery requests must be relevant to the subject matter of the action and proportional to the needs of the case. A request for a client's entire medical history when only a specific injury is at issue is likely overly broad and could seek privileged or irrelevant information. The paralegal's role is to identify such issues and bring them to the attorney's attention for strategic response.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Communicating directly with opposing counsel to negotiate discovery scope constitutes the unauthorized practice of law, as it involves legal strategy and negotiation.
- C. Redacting documents involves making legal determinations about relevance and privilege, which is the attorney's role, not the paralegal's.
- D. Producing overly broad or irrelevant records can violate client privacy and waive objections, and should not be done without attorney review.
Discovery Review & Privilege
Paralegals review discovery requests for relevance, proportionality, and potential privilege issues, flagging concerns for the supervising attorney's legal determination and strategic response.
- Discovery must be relevant and proportional.
- Paralegals identify potential privilege/irrelevance.
- Attorneys make legal determinations and strategic responses.
- Paralegals cannot negotiate with opposing counsel.
Memory trick: Review, flag, then attorney's judgment, no lag.