| name | protective-order |
| title | Stipulated Protective Order |
| description | Drafts a Stipulated Protective Order for federal litigation discovery under FRCP 26(c), covering confidentiality designation tiers, access restrictions, challenge procedures, clawback protocols, and disposition terms. Use when drafting protective orders, confidentiality stipulations, or discovery confidentiality agreements. |
| author | CaseMark |
| author_url | https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/protective-order |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | us |
| practice | litigation |
| language | en |
Stipulated Protective Order
Drafts a court-ready Stipulated Protective Order governing designation, handling, and disposition of confidential discovery materials under FRCP 26(c).
Prerequisites
Gather before drafting:
- Case identifiers — court, district, case number, judge, party names
- Nature of dispute — trade secret, commercial, IP, healthcare, financial
- Confidential material types — trade secrets, financials, source code, PII, PHI, customer data, pricing
- Regulatory requirements — HIPAA, FERPA, financial privacy (if applicable)
- Local rules — district-specific protective order requirements and model orders
- Party preferences — single-tier vs. multi-tier; prior confidentiality disputes
Quick Start
- Collect prerequisites above
- Check whether the district has a model protective order — adopt or reconcile with it
- Draft using the output structure below, numbered paragraphs throughout
- Mark uncertain local rule citations with
[VERIFY]
Output Structure
1. Caption and Preamble
- Match court formatting requirements exactly
- Reference FRCP 26(c) and court's inherent authority
- State good cause for the order
- Identify anticipated categories of sensitive materials
2. Definitions
| Term | Scope |
|---|
| Confidential Information | Trade secrets, proprietary strategy, customer data, financials, pricing, technical specs, source code, PII — scoped to case specifics |
| Designating Party | Party or non-party producing discovery who designates materials |
| Receiving Party | Party or non-party receiving designated materials |
| Qualified Person | Individuals authorized to access confidential materials |
| Outside Counsel | Attorneys not employed by any party |
| Retained Expert | Consultants engaged for this litigation |
| Competitive Decision-Maker | Individuals with regular competitive decision-making duties |
3. Designation Tiers
Default two-tier system. Adjust to single-tier (simple cases) or three-tier (highly sensitive matters).