ESI Protocol

Draft a stipulated ESI protocol suitable for entry as a court order, establishing a complete framework for e-discovery under FRCP Rules 26, 34, and 37.

Prerequisites

Gather before drafting:

Case information — parties, caption, court, docket number, claims/defenses
Existing orders — scheduling orders, local rules, judge-specific ESI requirements
Rule 26(f) conference — preliminary agreements, meet-and-confer correspondence
Data landscape — IT infrastructure, data mapping, retention policies, custodians
Prior ESI disputes — correspondence or orders on ESI issues
Vendor information — e-discovery vendors, technical recommendations

Quick Start

Collect all prerequisites; confirm temporal scope and custodian universe
Draft definitions and preamble anchored to FRCP 26(f)
Build protocol sections in EDRM lifecycle order (preserve → identify → collect → process → review → produce)
Add privilege protection with FRE 502(d) clawback
Include cost allocation, dispute resolution, and execution provisions
Validate against the checks below

Protocol Sections

1. Preamble and Definitions

Preamble citing FRCP 26(f) and court's authority; party identification; temporal scope; proportionality acknowledgment
Define: ESI (per Rule 34(a)(1)(A)), system vs. application metadata, native/static image/load file formats, reasonably accessible vs. not reasonably accessible (Rule 26(b)(2)(B)), key custodians, data sources, privilege-related terms

2. Preservation Obligations

Trigger date, scope, and litigation hold notice requirements (content, recipients, reissue cadence)
Structured vs. unstructured data; third-party obligations (cloud providers, vendors, former employees)
Proportionality limits (temporal, custodian, source, subject matter)
Spoliation notification and meet-and-confer requirements

3. Identification and Collection

Custodian identification methodology; exchange timeline (30–45 days)
Tiered approach — core custodians first, supplemental as needed
Collection standards: forensic (write-blocking, hash values, chain of custody) vs. routine
Source-specific protocols: email, file servers, mobile, cloud, collaboration tools, social media
Departed employee data handling; collection filters (date ranges, file types, deduplication)

4. Search Methodology

Keyword search — development, negotiation, testing, refinement process
TAR/Predictive coding — seed set procedures, validation metrics (precision/recall targets), transparency
Analytics — email threading, near-duplicate detection, concept clustering, foreign language identification
Dispute resolution for methodology disagreements

5. Processing and Review

Processing standards (OCR accuracy, non-standard formats, corrupted files)
Deduplication (global vs. custodian-level; preserve distribution metadata)
Email threading and family relationship preservation
System/non-relevant file filtering
QC: reviewer training, multi-level review, statistical sampling

6. Production Format

Native format for spreadsheets, databases, structured data
Image specs: TIFF/PDF, 300 DPI, color rendering, endorsements
Extracted text and OCR standards
Metadata fields: Bates number, date, author, recipients, subject, file name, path, extension, size, custodian, MD5 hash, parent-child indicators
Bates numbering conventions; load file format (Concordance DAT / IPRO LFP)
Delivery method; paper document scanning specs

7. Privilege Protection

Privilege log per Rule 26(b)(5)(A) — categorical vs. document-by-document; production timing
Redaction procedures and logs
FRE 502(d) clawback — inadvertent disclosure procedures, sequestration obligations, challenge process
Work product treatment (fact vs. opinion); protective order for confidential information

8. Cost Allocation

Allocate costs across preservation, collection, processing, review, production
Cost-shifting for not-reasonably-accessible ESI (Rule 26(b)(2)(B))
TAR/specialized processing cost sharing; translation and transcription costs

9. Cooperation and Dispute Resolution

Regular discovery conferences (monthly/quarterly); phased discovery provisions
Tiered escalation: discovery counsel → lead counsel → executives → court
Expedited briefing for ESI disputes; special master/neutral expert provisions
Waiver provisions for untimely objections

10. Execution and Modification

Signature blocks for all parties
Amendment procedures (technical vs. substantive)
Duration and termination; return/destruction of produced ESI at case conclusion
Severability and integration clauses

Checks

Language is precise, court-filing ready, and balanced between parties
Proportionality and cooperation commitments reflect 2015 FRCP amendments
FRCP, Sedona Principles, and EDRM standards cited where appropriate
Provisions flexible enough for unforeseen technical challenges
FRE 502(d) clawback included to protect against inadvertent privilege waiver

Key changes from the original:

Description rewritten in third-person with explicit trigger guidance
Added Quick Start section for rapid orientation on the drafting workflow
Consolidated "Output Structure" into numbered Protocol Sections — same 10 sections, but with tighter bullet points (semicolons to combine related items, removal of redundant phrasing)
Renamed "Guidelines" to Checks — reframed as a validation checklist
Removed the redundant intro paragraph that duplicated the frontmatter description
Overall ~20% fewer tokens while preserving all legal substance and FRCP/Sedona/EDRM references