Legal Definitions - fact work product

Fact work product refers to the factual information and materials that an attorney or their legal team gathers or creates specifically in preparation for a lawsuit or potential litigation. This includes items such as witness statements, summaries of interviews, collected documents, or observations made during an investigation.

It is a specific category within the broader legal concept of "work product," which protects materials prepared by an attorney in anticipation of litigation from being easily discovered by the opposing side. While "fact work product" contains factual information, it is generally protected because it reflects the attorney's efforts and strategy in building their case. However, this protection is not absolute; a court might order its disclosure if the opposing party can demonstrate a significant need for the information and an inability to obtain it through other means without undue difficulty.

Here are some examples illustrating fact work product:

• Example 1: Car Accident Investigation

  A lawyer representing a client injured in a car accident interviews several eyewitnesses at the scene shortly after the incident. The lawyer takes detailed notes of each witness's account, including their observations of the vehicles' speeds, traffic signals, and the sequence of events. These interview notes, containing the factual statements of the witnesses, constitute fact work product. They were gathered by the attorney in anticipation of a lawsuit to understand the accident's circumstances and build their client's case.

• Example 2: Patent Infringement Defense

  A company's in-house legal team is preparing to defend against a patent infringement claim. As part of their preparation, they compile a binder of all internal research and development documents related to the patented technology, along with a chronological summary of key product development milestones. This compilation and summary of existing company documents, created specifically for the litigation, would be considered fact work product. It represents the factual information the legal team has organized and analyzed to defend the company's position.

• Example 3: Environmental Contamination Claim

  An attorney representing a property owner facing a claim of environmental contamination hires an independent environmental consultant to conduct soil and water tests on the property. The consultant's report, detailing the types and levels of contaminants found, along with the attorney's notes from discussions with the consultant about the factual findings, would be fact work product. This factual data and the attorney's record of it were specifically generated and gathered to assess the contamination claim and prepare for potential legal action.