Got hit with a discovery order in Ohio and my own file naming bit me
Our outside counsel called in March about a contract fight in Cleveland. They needed every doc related to a vendor deal from 2021.
I named my files stuff like "final", "final2", "final REVISED". No dates. No version numbers.
Took my paralegal and me 9 days to sort it out. Opposing counsel filed a motion complaining we were slow. Judge was not happy.
Now every file gets a date first. Done. Whole shop does it.
Anyone else get burned by their own file names in a records request?
Man, I used to roll my eyes at people who made a big deal about file names. Figured a name is just a name and I know where my stuff is. Then I watched a buddy spend a week digging through his own mess for a subpoena and I changed my tune real fast. Now I do date first, then a short note on what it is, and it saves me every single time. That nine days you lost is brutal but at least the whole shop learned it the easy way instead of losing the case over it.