Identify the information needed to test a legal theory and the lawful method for obtaining it.
Objective work product
How to write an MPT investigation or discovery plan
An investigation or discovery plan is a practical document: it identifies what information is needed to prove or test a legal theory and how to obtain it lawfully. The MPT looks for a plan tied to the elements of the claim or defense, where each information gap is matched to a source, a method and a sequence. It also tests professional responsibility, since the methods have to be permissible: contact with represented parties, privilege, privacy and the handling of confidential information can all limit what a lawyer may do. Order the plan by what matters most to the theory and what can be lost if not secured early. Read the file for facts that are known, missing and disputed before writing. The framework below sets out the skeleton, the items to read for, and a rubric for scoring your plan.
AUDIENCELegal team, investigator, or client team
Specific, prioritized, proportionate, and tied to legal significance.
Legal team, investigator, or client team
Build this structure before drafting
- 1
Objective and current theory
- 2
Fact gaps by element
- 3
Sources and custodians
- 4
Methods and sequence
- 5
Privilege, preservation, or burden constraints
- 6
Decision points
What to extract
- Which unknown fact can change the result
- Who or what can reliably prove it
- Preservation and timing risks
- Limits imposed by privilege, privacy, or procedure
Format-specific traps
- A generic shopping list
- Requests untethered to elements
- Ignoring preservation or privilege
- No priority or sequence
A usable opening
The immediate objective is to determine ___. That fact controls ___ and is most efficiently tested through ___.
Score the finished product analytically
The tasks NCBE names
NCBE lists a discovery plan and a witness examination plan among the example tasks an MPT may require. Its skills document describes factual analysis as the ability to analyze and use facts and to plan and direct factual investigation.
That covers identifying relevant facts, determining the need for investigation, planning the investigation and memorializing information in an accessible form.
Deciding what is missing
NCBE's skills document also lists deciding whether to conclude the process of fact gathering and evaluating the information that has been gathered. NCBE's preparation page says examinees are expected to recognize when facts are inconsistent or missing and to identify sources of additional facts.
A strong plan therefore lists what is unknown, who or what could supply it and when to stop.
Practice walk-through: a plan to test a wage claim
This scenario is invented for practice and is not NCBE material. The task memo asks for an investigation plan for a delivery driver who says his employer misclassified him as an independent contractor. The Library has an invented test with three factors: control over the work, who supplies equipment and whether the worker is in an independent business. The File has a signed contractor agreement and the driver's account. Build the plan from the gaps in the test, not from a generic list of documents.
For each factor, name the missing fact, the best source and the method. Control: dispatch messages and route assignments, from the driver's phone and the employer's app logs. Equipment: vehicle title, insurance and fuel receipts, from the driver. Independent business: whether he drove for others, from his tax returns. Sequence the steps: send a preservation request first, because app logs may be overwritten, then interview the driver. Note limits, such as privilege over the firm's own notes. A losing plan says 'gather all records' and 'interview witnesses' without saying which fact would change the result.
Targeted format drill
15-minute drill
For each missing fact, write one source, one acquisition method, and one decision it will affect.
Questions about this format
What tone should an MPT investigation or discovery plan use?+
Specific, prioritized, proportionate, and tied to legal significance.
What is the biggest trap?+
The most common failure in this format is a generic shopping list.
Are discovery and witness plans MPT tasks?+
Yes. NCBE lists a discovery plan and a witness examination plan among the tasks examinees might be instructed to complete.
What does NCBE say factual analysis includes?+
Identifying relevant facts, determining the need for investigation, planning it, organizing information, deciding whether to conclude fact gathering and evaluating information gathered.
What should an investigation plan identify?+
Sources of additional facts, since NCBE expects examinees to recognize when facts are inconsistent or missing and to identify where more facts can be found.
Are MPT facts always complete?+
No. NCBE says facts are sometimes ambiguous, incomplete or even conflicting, and that a client's version of events may be incomplete or unreliable.
How should facts be recorded in a plan?+
In an accessible, organized form, since NCBE lists memorializing and organizing information among the factual analysis abilities.
How many skills does the MPT test, and what are they?+
Six: problem solving, legal analysis and reasoning, factual analysis, communication, organization and management of a legal task, and recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas, per NCBE.
Primary and official sources
NCBE: MPT skills tested↗NCBE: preparing for the MPT↗NCBE: the Multistate Performance Test↗Legal writing (Wikipedia)↗More from the MPT document library
This investigation or discovery plan is one of 14 formats in the MPT document library. Compare it against the Negotiation plan format and the Settlement term sheet or agreement format to see how structure and tone shift by document type.