e-discovery-protocol-agreement

name	e-discovery-protocol-agreement
title	E-Discovery Protocol Agreement
description	Drafts court-ready ESI Protocol Agreements governing electronically stored information exchange in U.S. federal litigation. Covers FRCP 26(f)/34 compliance, FRE 502(d) clawback, TAR methodology, privilege logs, and production format specs. Use when drafting e-discovery stipulations, ESI protocols, meet-and-confer agreements, or joint discovery plans.
author	CaseMark
author_url	https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/e-discovery-protocol-agreement
license	Apache-2.0
version	0.1.0
execution_mode	open
jurisdiction	us
practice	litigation
language	en

E-Discovery Protocol Agreement

Drafts a litigation-ready ESI Protocol Agreement covering search methodology, production formats, privilege procedures, and clawback protections for U.S. commercial litigation.

Prerequisites

Collect before drafting:

• Court caption — court name, case number, party names, assigned judge
• Case materials — meet-and-confer correspondence, prior ESI orders, discovery requests
• Custodian list — names and roles of key custodians per party
• ESI sources — email platforms, DMS, collaboration tools, mobile, cloud storage
• Search terms — agreed Boolean/proximity terms or TAR parameters
• Date ranges — preservation trigger date and production date range
• Production specs — native vs. TIFF, agreed metadata fields (if pre-negotiated)

Quick Start

1. Gather prerequisites from uploaded case materials
2. Draft sections in order below, resolving all bracketed gaps
3. Format as joint stipulation with neutral, cooperative tone
4. Append proposed court order with FRE 502(d) incorporation

Agreement Sections

1. Caption & Recitals

• Full court caption mirroring prior filings; all counsel of record
• Rule 26(f) conference date; good-faith cooperation statement
• Rule 26(b)(1) proportionality commitment

2. Preservation

Element	Content
Trigger date	Date preservation obligations arose
Key custodians	Name, title, party affiliation
ESI sources in scope	Email, DMS, shared drives, mobile, cloud, collaboration tools
Excluded sources	Basis for exclusion under FRCP 26(b)(2)(B)
Litigation hold	Confirmation holds issued; IT contact per party

3. Search Methodology

Option A — Keyword Search:

• Terms in Exhibit A with Boolean/proximity operators
• Specify custodian-specific vs. across-the-board application
• Iterative refinement; meet-and-confer on hit count reports

Option B — TAR/Predictive Coding:

• Platform and vendor identification