Sample ESI Agreement Order
Use Lexbe’s electronically stored information (ESI) order/agreement/protocol for litigators to use as a sample or example in their e-Discovery negotiations. To get your copy, please fill out the form to below and you will be redirected immediately.
Larger document-Intensive Cases Benefit
With larger document-intensive cases becoming more common, proactively managing electronic documents in the discovery process has become more important. One of the best ways to do that is with an ESI Agreement in place.
A properly planned and negotiated e-Discovery ESI agreement can streamline electronic discovery and avoid unnecessary disputes and case delays and reduce e-discovery costs. Failure to handle these sometimes technical but important issues can lead to frustration, high costs, embarrassment, and ultimately the inability to obtain key evidence in your case.
ESI Agreements can sometimes be negotiated as part of the Rule 26 ‘Meet and Confer’ process in federal court. In such cases, having a model agreement can help focus the Rule 26 discussions. Even outside of the Rule 26 framework, such an agreement can be helpful in any complex commercial case.
At Lexbe we have drafted and are making available for use a model ESI agreement that covers all the important issues you might wish to consider, with suggested agreement or order language. Feel free to adapt to your own use or use as a checklist.
Topics Covered in Model ESI Agreement
- Preservation, collection and culling
- Not reasonably accessible ESI
- Use of search terms of document review
- Metadata production requirements
- Duplicates
- Databases
- Form of production
- Native files
- Parent-child relationships
- Bates numbering
- File naming conventions
- Load files
- Extracted text/OCRed text
- Exception files
- Translation of produced materials
- Privileged information
- Privilege log
- In-camera review of documents subject to a privilege claim
- Receipt of privileged information
- Redaction
- eDiscovery liaison
- Appendix