Regardless of what you call them—clone, copycat, flipped—the request is the same: to re-produce document productions from a prior matter to a different party in a new, related matter. Often, the presumption is one of relative ease—just produce what you did before. Such requests, though, often disregard both the potential procedural complexity of clone discovery and the relevance, proportionality and particularity requirements of discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Despite the ubiquity of requests for clone discovery, few cases confront their complexity and analyze the issues involved. But a recent decision changes that. In United States v. Anthem, 2024 WL 1116276 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 2024), the court explored the various challenges presented in clone discovery and ultimately offered a middle-ground approach that balances the burdens and benefits of sharing such data.