Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked cookies. Better yet, nothing beats the smell of freshly baked double chocolate chip cookies. Or what about blueberry muffins? And lemon pound cake and lemon bars? That’s my kryptonite. Baking has been both my hobby and source of comfort since the not-so-long-ago days of the pandemic. Although I only picked up the hobby a few years ago, learning to bake has helped me incorporate helpful habits into my work as an attorney.

Measuring the Ingredients – Asking the Right Questions in Discovery

I am not a pâtissier. I am definitely not a measure-by-your-heart kind of baker. If anything, I follow those recipes and directions down to the last gram. As an amateur baker, I quickly realized ingredients matter. As a newer attorney and litigator, I quickly realized the tools within the discovery process matter.

Why? With the right ingredients and the right amount of ingredients, I can end up with a delicious, ooey-gooey cookie. With the right discovery requests or deposition questions or discovery motion, an attorney can end up with successful case resolution.

Ingredients matter because they are the individual components that make the pastry. The tools at a litigator’s disposal within the discovery process matter because they are the individual components that set the stage for the testimony and support to make their case.

For example, too much baking soda in cookies causes them to spread too much, have a coarse crumb, and taste soapy or metallic.[i] In the same vein, if a litigator focuses too much on the discovery requests alone, they are missing out on the value of other discovery tools such as depositions of plaintiffs – of obtaining sworn testimony from the other party that can even end up supporting a dispositive motion for summary judgment later on. The point is to not think of one ingredient too much over the others, but to think of the cookie, just as a litigator would approach discovery as a step towards preparing for trial.

Mixing the Ingredients – Assessing Liability and Damages

Mixing the ingredients also matters. Overmixing cookie dough means flatter, crispier cookies because one ends up aerating the dough too much, so the cookies rise and then fall flat.[ii] Analyzing the results of discovery also matters. Plaintiff’s discovery responses do not hold much weight on their own.

Records produced by the parties do not mean much separately. As an attorney, I learned my value to my clients is in my analysis of what is obtained during discovery. My job is to analyze the individual components as they relate to each other so that I can evaluate the liability and damages of the case and determine our initial defense strategy. For example, a plaintiff may allege certain injuries in their form interrogatory responses. But combined with my review and assessment of their produced medical records, there may be support limiting alleged damages – maybe there is a prior-history and contributing injury to the same body part.

In either case, as a litigator, I need to evaluate everything obtained during discovery as a whole because no one wants tunnel-vision or flat cookies.

Conclusion: Baking the Cookies – Presenting Options

So far, we have measured the ingredients and mixed the ingredients. All that is left is to bake those cookies! That seems simple enough, right? Not at all! Every oven is different. Gas ovens provide more efficient heating and precise temperature control, but electric ovens have consistent heating distribution and even baking.[iii] And we have not even considered the influence of different brands of ovens on baking.

Similarly, every case is different. At this stage, as a litigator, I already decided on what discovery procedures and what tools to utilize, and I have already analyzed the results. Depending on the unique circumstances of each case, I now need to bake my case. Do I advise the client to enter settlement negotiations? Do I look towards drafting dispositive motions next? What about mediation? Or do we take this case to trial?

Whatever approach is right for one case is not necessarily right for another one. Just as I may have to adjust the time spent baking depending on the oven, I need to cater my recommendations to the unique factual circumstances of each case and weigh the merits. So bake your cookies, and bake your cases! Maybe by the end of all your efforts, you can enjoy a nice tray of fresh cookies, or for all the attorneys out there, successful case resolution.

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Sources

[i] Kalea Martin, This Is What Happens When You Put Too Much Baking Soda In Your Cookies, mashed (Oct. 19, 2021, 10:38 AM), https://www.mashed.com/636792/this-is-what-happens-when-you-put-too-much-baking-soda-in-your-cookies/.

[ii] Madison Vanderberg, 11 baking mistakes you’re making that could be ruining your cookies, Business Insider (Dec. 22, 2022, 12:04 PM), https://www.businessinsider.com/cookie-baking-mistakes-people-make-2019-3.

[iii] Baking Battle: Gas Vs Electric Ovens – Which is Right For You?, DeWaard & Bode (Oct. 23, 2023), https://www.dewaardandbode.com/blog/baking-battle-gas-vs-electric-ovens-which-is-right-for-you?srsltid=AfmBOooAj_fMIJa7qwIIDmb1U3uxVSoP_VuF_x-NsMGyF1CkjODIMN5U.