Documents
Cases are built from documents, and the useful ones are usually already in your hands: emails, texts, reviews, write-ups, pay records. This page tells you exactly what to send and how to prepare it, so everything you send can be used. No special software, and the rules are short.
PDFs keep their formatting and their dates. Screenshots are fine for text messages. Photos are the last resort.
Every document should answer two questions on its face: who is talking, and when. If I can't see both, I can't use it.
Send copies and keep your originals. Don't highlight, crop, annotate, or delete anything — even the parts that look bad. Context is protection.
These rules aren't fussiness — they're leverage. In a strong case, one of my favorite calls to the other side is: "Don't bother subpoenaing the records — I'll send you everything." You can only make that call when everything is complete, unedited, and dated. Clean documents are how a case gets taken seriously.
Open the email and use Print, then choose Save as PDF. That works in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and on your phone. The PDF must show the From, To, and date lines — the printed version includes them automatically.
If the email is part of a back-and-forth, print the whole thread, not just the last message. One thread per PDF. Emails you sent matter as much as emails you received.
Screenshots are the reliable way — with three things visible:
For group chats, also capture the screen that lists everyone in the group. Voicemails: don't try to export them — just tell me they exist, and from whom.
Paper documents — write-ups, reviews, doctor's notes, the severance they handed you — get scanned, not photographed. Your phone already does this: the iPhone Notes app and the Google Drive app both have a scan button that turns paper into a clean PDF.
Pay stubs, schedules, and benefits records: download the official PDFs from the payroll or HR portal while you still have access. Portals close fast after a termination — do this early.
Name files so they sort themselves: start with the date, then a few words. 2026-03-12 written warning.pdf beats Scan04.pdf every time.
When we start working together, I send you a private upload link — you add files from your phone or computer, whenever you have a minute. Before then, email works: bruce@weisenberg.law. Send what you have; it doesn't need to be complete or organized. A partial record today beats a perfect one after the portal closes.
Then don't sort — call. Telling me what happened comes first; the documents follow. The first conversation is free and confidential, and there's no cost unless we win.