Legal Definitions - Bates number

A Bates number (also known as a Bates stamp or Bates label) is a unique, sequential identifier—often a combination of letters and numbers—that is electronically or physically applied to each page of a document or set of documents during legal discovery or other administrative processes. Its primary purpose is to ensure that every document is uniquely identified, easily referenced, and accounted for, especially when dealing with large volumes of paperwork.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept of a Bates number:

• Example 1: Corporate Merger Litigation

  Imagine two large corporations are involved in a lawsuit over a failed merger agreement. During the discovery phase, millions of emails, contracts, financial statements, and internal memos need to be exchanged between the legal teams. To manage this vast amount of information, every single page of every document produced by both sides is assigned a unique Bates number, such as "CORP-MERGE-000001" through "CORP-MERGE-999999." If a lawyer refers to "CORP-MERGE-001234," everyone involved immediately knows exactly which specific page of which document they are discussing, preventing confusion and ensuring all parties are looking at the identical material.

• Example 2: Medical Malpractice Case

  In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff's legal team needs to review all of the patient's medical records, including doctor's notes, lab results, imaging reports, and hospital bills, which could span many years and hundreds of pages. As these documents are gathered and prepared for review and potential submission to the court, each page is stamped with a Bates number, perhaps starting with "PATIENT-A-0001." This ensures that when the attorneys, experts, or the court refer to a specific entry, like "PATIENT-A-0045, paragraph 3," there is no ambiguity about which exact medical record page is being cited, maintaining the integrity and order of the evidence.

• Example 3: Government Regulatory Investigation

  A government agency is investigating a financial firm for alleged fraudulent activities. The firm is required to produce all relevant financial transactions, internal communications, and employee records. This could involve hundreds of thousands of digital and physical documents. To keep track of every piece of evidence and ensure nothing is missed or duplicated, the agency applies Bates numbers to all produced documents, perhaps using a format like "FIN-INV-2023-000001." This system allows investigators to precisely cite specific documents in their reports, track the origin of each piece of evidence, and ensure a complete and auditable record of all materials reviewed during the investigation.