Identify the relevant evidence first and agree on appropriate records and handling. A complete archive may contain unnecessary or confidential material. Scope the collection by the fact each document is meant to establish. A request for everything from every team generates volume, cost and a confidentiality problem, and it buries the handful of records that actually carry the argument. Have the adviser name the propositions first, then ask each team only for what proves one of them.
Define the collection task
Ask which fact each request should establish and who can supply it. Clarify professional and translation costs separately from official charges. The number of teams or documents does not determine whether specialized knowledge is established.
The expense that surprises people is redaction. Client-confidential material, personal data and commercially sensitive design documents all have to be reviewed before they leave the company, and that review is billed against a volume somebody chose carelessly. Agree the handling rules before the first request goes out: who reviews, what may be redacted, and which documents can be described in a signed declaration instead of produced.
Keep professional charges, translation of foreign-language records and official charges as separate lines, and confirm current official amounts from the official source rather than carrying forward a figure quoted for an earlier matter. Volume is not evidence, and a large production can weaken a point that was clear.