When a company has a meritorious claim, documents that memorialize events can be tremendously useful. Unlike memory, documents cannot fade. They are both a record of the events that transpired and a valuable means of refreshing the recollection of witnesses called upon to testify about those events. This is particularly true of documents a witness authored. Witnesses will generally affirm the accuracy of descriptions of events contained in such documents based on their general business practice of accurate reporting.
Documents also provide counsel a road map to use in establishing what occurred and how to prove it.
This is especially useful in litigations arising out of events that occurred long ago. Another important benefit is that documents are created at a time when the author is employed by the company. Between the date of the event at issue and trial, this relationship may change, with the employee leaving for a better position or, worse yet, departing involuntarily. In such circumstances, fixing her story before departure is far better than hearing it after she has an ax to grind. An additional advantage is that, in appropriate circumstances, such documentation can be used to prove what occurred.