esi-protocol

name	esi-protocol
title	ESI Protocol
description	Drafts stipulated ESI protocols for federal e-discovery. Produces court-ready agreements governing preservation, collection, processing, review, and production of electronically stored information under FRCP Rules 26, 34, 37 and Sedona Principles. Trigger when formalizing ESI procedures between parties during the discovery phase.
author	CaseMark
author_url	https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/esi-protocol
license	Apache-2.0
version	0.1.0
execution_mode	open
jurisdiction	us
practice	litigation
language	en
tags	["agreement","drafting"]

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:

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

Quick Start

1. Collect all prerequisites; confirm temporal scope and custodian universe
2. Draft definitions and preamble anchored to FRCP 26(f)
3. Build protocol sections in EDRM lifecycle order (preserve → identify → collect → process → review → produce)
4. Add privilege protection with FRE 502(d) clawback
5. Include cost allocation, dispute resolution, and execution provisions
6. 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