Dear Pot Lawyer,
I think I need to sue my cannabis business partner. What should I expect?
Litigation is not a pleasant experience for either side, and this applies whether you’re in the cannabis business or not. Plaintiffs are frequently frustrated by the slow pace of litigation, while defendants often face seemingly unreasonable demands. Both are frustrated by the expense and intrusion in their lives. In the modern world, litigants on both sides will face the heavy burden of e-discovery. Both sides will be required to turn over all emails, text messages, and documents even tangentially related to the core dispute. You will be asked to pore over all your old records for every relevant scrap. Nobody likes putting out all their dirty laundry for the world to see.
The opposing attorney will probably want to depose you to ask you a series of invasive questions under penalty of perjury. This can feel like the attorney is trying to trick you, but really the purpose of a deposition is for the attorney to gather information and get an idea of what you will testify to at trial. Don’t lie! Once you get caught out for lying you will lose all credibility in the eyes of the fact-finder, and often, your credibility will be all that you have.