Law360, New York (February 2, 2016, 12:02 PM EST) -- When a Section 337 complaint is filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission, the ITC has 30 days to evaluate the complaint before starting an investigation. This time might be perceived as the calm before the storm, but a company sued at the ITC should make maximum use of this period by selecting counsel, hiring experts, organizing offensive and defensive discovery, and other preparations. Once the investigation starts, a company must respond to numerous external and internal demands (many unique to the ITC) in much shorter time periods than in U.S. court proceedings. Thus, the 30 days after a complaint is filed are an important phase of an ITC investigation. For some companies, even those familiar with U.S. district court litigation, the unique procedures and pace of a 337 investigation can be intimidating. In this series, Steptoe's Section 337 team addresses some of the actions to be taken for maximum advantage during this time. Here, we suggest questions that a company may consider asking outside counsel candidates, as well as some initial actions to consider taking....