Every lawyer knows how important it is to control the flow of information in litigation.
When representing a civil plaintiff, the lawyer's goal is to obtain information effectively and at the smallest possible cost. Conversely, as a defendant's counsel, the lawyer's object is, at times, to limit or even bar access to certain information. Much of the sparring in civil discovery, or investigation of criminal cases, arises from this need to control how information passes from one party to the other, if at all. In the corporate setting, the issues surrounding the flow of information become dizzyingly complex. The answer to this question may vary depending on the reason for asking it.