Read it closely before reacting
A subpoena is a legal demand, usually for testimony, for documents, or for both, and it is not the same as being sued or charged. Start by identifying who issued it and in what proceeding: a civil lawsuit between other parties, a criminal case, a grand jury, or a government agency investigation. In many civil cases, a lawyer for one of the parties can issue a subpoena without a judge reviewing it first, so the scope may be broader than a court would allow. Note the date and place for compliance and what categories of records are requested. Ignoring a valid subpoena can lead to a court order and contempt, so doing nothing is generally the worst option.
What you must do and what you can push back on
You must preserve anything the subpoena could reach, including emails, texts, and files on personal devices, and you must not destroy or alter records after receiving it. Beyond that, compliance is often more negotiable than people expect. Deadlines can frequently be extended by agreement with the issuing lawyer, and requests can be narrowed when they are overly broad, burdensome, or seek privileged or confidential material. If an agreement is not possible, there are formal ways to object or to ask a court to quash or limit the subpoena, and some of those steps have short deadlines. Producing more than requested, or turning over privileged material by mistake, can create problems that are hard to reverse.
Witness or something more
The most important question is often your own role. A non-party witness in a business dispute is in a very different position from someone whose conduct is under investigation, and a subpoena from a prosecutor or regulator calls for more caution than one from a civil litigant. A lawyer can usually contact the issuing attorney to clarify your status and what is actually needed. If testimony is requested, preparation matters, and in some settings you may have constitutional rights to consider before answering. Bring us the subpoena along with how and when it was delivered, and we can work out what kind it is, what it requires, and what needs to happen first.
