What makes a case complex
Complex litigation is a practical label rather than a single legal category. It usually describes cases with many parties, related claims in several courts, large volumes of electronic data, or issues that require technical or financial analysis. Class actions, multidistrict litigation, shareholder and partnership disputes, construction defect cases, and large commercial contract disputes often fall into this group. Courts manage these cases actively, with scheduling orders, case management conferences, and sometimes special masters or referees. New York's Commercial Division and the federal courts each have procedures designed for this kind of case.
Discovery at scale
Electronic discovery tends to drive cost and timing. Early decisions about which custodians, systems, date ranges, and search methods to use can shape the entire case, and courts expect the parties to confer about them. A litigation hold has to reach everyone who might have relevant data, including former employees and outside vendors where possible. Technology-assisted review is commonly used to manage large document sets. Privilege review at that volume needs its own plan, and agreements with the other side about inadvertently produced privileged material are common. Retained witnesses in accounting, engineering, or industry practice are often needed, and their work has to be planned early to fit the court's schedule.
Planning the case as a project
Because complex litigation can run for a long time, we plan it like a project, with phases, budgets, and decision points. Early motions can narrow claims or parties, and settlement opportunities may arise at several stages. Coordinating with co-defendants or co-plaintiffs, insurers, and other counsel calls for clear agreements about cost sharing and confidentiality. At a first meeting, the focus is the core issues, the key data sources, and the obligations that cannot wait, such as preservation and responses already due. We then outline a realistic plan and revisit it as the case develops. Clients usually want regular reporting on spending against the budget, and we build that into the plan from the start.
