(a) Any demand made to the Department or an employee of the Department to produce any material or provide any testimony in a legal proceeding among private litigants must:

(1) Be submitted in writing to the Department or employee of the Department, with a copy to the Appropriate Associate General Counsel or Appropriate Regional Counsel, no later than 30 days before the date the material or testimony is required;

(2) State, with particularity, the material or testimony sought;

(3) If testimony is requested, state:

(i) The intended use of the testimony, and

(ii) Whether expert or opinion testimony will be sought from the employee;

(4) State whether the production of such material or provision of such testimony could reveal classified, confidential, or privileged material;

(5) Summarize the need for and relevance of the material or testimony sought in the legal proceeding and include a copy of the complaint, if available;

(6) State whether the material or testimony is available from any other source and, if so, state all such other sources;

(7) State why no document[s], or declaration[s] or affidavit[s], could be used in lieu of oral testimony that is being sought;

(8) Estimate the amount of time the employee will need in order to prepare for, travel to, and attend the legal proceeding, as appropriate;

(9) State why the production of the material or provision of the testimony is appropriate under the rules of procedure governing the legal proceeding for which it is sought (e.g., not be unduly burdensome or otherwise inappropriate under the relevant rules governing discovery); and

(10) Describe how producing such material or providing such testimony would affect the interests of the United States.

(b) If the Department determines that the requestor has failed to provide the information required by paragraph (a) of this section, or that the information provided is insufficient to consider the demand in accordance with §15.204, the Department may require that additional information be provided by the requestor before the demand is considered.

(c) Whenever a demand is made upon the Department or an employee of the Department for the production of material or provision of testimony, the employee shall immediately notify the Appropriate Associate General Counsel or Appropriate Regional Counsel.

[73 FR 72205, Nov. 26, 2008]