Discovery preparation checklist (Federal Court / state Supreme Courts)
Discovery is one of the most resource-intensive phases of civil litigation. Proper preparation prevents missed documents, privilege errors, and costs disputes. This checklist runs through the standard preparation steps.
This is a 12-step checklist for preparing for discovery in Australian civil litigation. It covers the discovery scope, document collection, privilege review, and the list of documents. Use it at the start of any discovery exercise in the Federal Court or state Supreme Courts.
The checklist
Confirm the discovery scope
Identify the discovery order or rule that applies — standard discovery, categories discovery, or specific discovery. Confirm the date range and subject matter.
Issue a litigation hold notice
Issue a written litigation hold to the client and any custodians of relevant documents. Suspend any document destruction policies.
Identify document custodians
List all individuals and systems that may hold relevant documents — current and former employees, email accounts, file servers, cloud storage.
Conduct custodian interviews
Interview each custodian to understand what documents they have, where they are stored, and how they relate to the issues.
Collect documents from each custodian
Collect documents in a defensible way — preserve metadata, document chain of custody, and use forensic tools where appropriate.
Cull obvious duplicates
Remove exact duplicates and apply email threading to reduce the document set before substantive review.
Apply relevance review
Review documents against the discovery scope and remove irrelevant material. AI tools (including Quillio) can accelerate this step significantly.
Identify privileged material
Flag potentially privileged documents (legal professional privilege, without prejudice, common interest privilege). These need separate review.
Conduct privilege review
Apply the dominant purpose test to each potentially privileged document. Document the basis for the privilege claim.
Prepare the list of documents
List documents in the format required by the relevant court rule. Include privileged documents in a separate schedule.
Lodge and serve the list
File the list of documents with the court and serve on all other parties within the timeframe ordered.
Coordinate inspection
Make documents available for inspection at the agreed time. Address any disputes about access or scope.
When this checklist applies
Use this checklist at the start of any discovery exercise — typically after the close of pleadings or when a discovery order is made. Discovery preparation can take weeks for complex matters; start early.
Common pitfalls
- Failing to issue a litigation hold notice — risks adverse inferences for spoliation
- Missing custodians of relevant documents (especially former employees)
- Inadequate privilege review — privilege errors can lead to waiver or sanctions
- Underestimating the volume — large discovery exercises require AI-assisted review
- Missing the lodgement deadline — extensions are difficult to obtain
Run this checklist on a real matter
Quillio runs bulk discovery review at scale, surfaces relevant documents, flags potentially privileged material, and helps prepare the list of documents. See /practice-areas/litigation-lawyers or start a free trial.
This checklist covers standard civil discovery in Federal Court and state Supreme Court matters. Categories discovery and specific discovery may require additional steps.
Use this checklist on your matter.
Quillio can run this checklist on a specific NSW conveyancing matter — confirm each item, calculate adjustments, and generate the supporting documents. The free trial requires no credit card.
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