Nextpoint gives you five reasons to standardize your ESI protocol. Even more importantly, they give you a checklist to help do so!

Their downloadable resource (ESI protocol checklist for ediscovery, available here) provides 13 questions to answer before you draft — related to considerations such as data sources, production format, metadata, and privilege.

The landing page also identifies five reasons to standardize your ESI protocol. They are:

1. Think through the entire matter up front: Drafting a protocol forces you to walk through discovery for the whole case before it starts, not one request at a time.
2. Protect your client’s data and interests: A well-drafted protocol sets the terms for how data is handled — reducing the risk of disputes or inadvertent disclosure down the line.
3. Identify data sources that need extra planning: Some sources require more collection or production planning than others. A protocol surfaces those early, when there’s still time to plan for them.
4. Reuse it for third-party data: The same protocol structure can apply when you’re requesting or receiving data from a third party, not just the opposing party.
5. Build your discovery blueprint for the case: A documented protocol becomes the reference point you return to throughout the matter, keeping every decision consistent with the last.

So, what are the 13 questions and considerations for drafting a protocol that fits your firm? Find out by downloading the 8-page resource here. Doing so will check that off your list! 😉

So, what do you think? How is your organization managing AI ethically? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image created using ChatGPT, using the term “robot lawyer checking items off an ESI Protocol checklist”.

Disclosure: Nextpoint is an Educational Partner and sponsor of eDiscovery Today

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