In this episode, Ed Mullins and Rebeca Mosquera explore the complexities of section 1782, a powerful tool for obtaining U.S.-based evidence for foreign proceedings. They discuss the various types of evidence that can be requested, the requirements and procedures for filing applications, and how to respond to such discovery orders for the defense. With insights from recent Supreme Court rulings, they analyze the implications for practitioners and offer practical advice on leveraging section 1782 effectively in the evolving legal landscape. ----more---- Transcript: Intro: Welcome to Disputes in Perspective, a Reed Smith podcast. This podcast series will discuss disputes-related trends, hot topics, and developments occurring in the global legal landscape, and hopefully provide you with some helpful insights and practical tips. If you have any questions about any of the episodes, please feel free to contact our speakers.  Rebeca: Welcome to Disputes in Perspective. I am Rebeca Mosquera, a senior associate in our New York office specializing in international arbitration and litigation. Joining me is my wonderful colleague, Ed Mullins, a partner in our Miami office. Ed and I have had the pleasure of working together on several international arbitration and cross-border disputes. Today, we're exploring a topic that regularly generates a lot of discussion, Section 1782 of the U.S. Code. So, let's dive right in. Essentially, Section 1782 is a federal statute that allows individuals involved in legal proceedings outside the United States to request assistance from U.S. Courts to obtain evidence located within the U.S. It's like a legal bridge between foreign courts and U.S.-based evidence. I want us to visualize this. So, for example, imagine that you're part of a lawsuit in, say, Brazil or Germany, and you realize that crucial evidence or testimony is sitting with a company or an individual in the U.S. So instead of jumping through international hoops and letter of rogatories, Section 1792 lets you go straight to a U.S. District court to request the evidence. It is a powerful tool that promotes international cooperation and can significantly impact the outcome of foreign disputes. When I say it promotes international cooperation, that was precisely the spirit of this statue when it was created. The U.S. created this statue in the hopes that other countries will replicate similar laws and statutes. But I don't think that's happened. But in any case, now you might be wondering about the type of evidence you can request, what are the elements, or what does your application might have to include. And for that, I would like to turn it over to Ed so he can tell us more about the requirements that we need to meet for a Section 1782 application.  Ed: Thank you. I'd really enjoy talking about 1782 because I think it's a pretty unique statute. I can find out more information about a case before it's even filed for a foreign proceeding than I can domestically. And it's a very powerful tool. You can get not just documents, but you can get deposition testimony as well. And the lawsuit that that issue doesn't even have to be filed yet. So let's talk about the statute itself. I agree with Rebecca that the idea was that we were supposed to be able to get evidence for our cases in the United States in foreign countries that hasn't really worked out. And so there is an imbalance here where you can get more evidence for a foreign proceeding than you can for a case here looking for discovery in a foreign country. So there's different ways to talk about the elements. I think the logical way you see most cases look at it, the elements are an interested person doesn't necessarily have to be a living person. It can be a corporation. The evidence needs to be for use in a foreign proceeding. And the target, often called the target, it has to be found in the district of the 11th Circuit and other circuits. So the fourth element that it has to be, you