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Discovery Request Checklist: Document Production

Litigation Attorney and Legal Professional Resource

Plan civil document discovery with a production checklist. Cover custodian lists, date ranges, core paper files, email and chat ESI, phones and backups, accounting systems, contracts, insurance, photographs, and privilege-log expectations so requests for production and ESI protocols match the case theory. Use it with a request-for-production form and an eDiscovery source list. For litigators and paralegals. This is not legal advice; scope, proportionality, and local ESI rules differ—confirm current rules of civil procedure and any standing order before you serve requests.

Discovery Request Checklist: Document Production form template preview

Key Benefits

Name custodians and date ranges before drafting RFPs
List paper and ESI sources that actually exist in the case
Cover contracts, accounting, insurance, and photos
Plan privilege-log and confidentiality fields
Coordinate with the request-for-production form
Avoid one-size-all requests that draw proportionality objections

Common Use Cases

Plaintiff counsel drafting a first set of RFPsDefense counsel planning incoming production reviewParalegals building a custodian and source interview listCases entering an ESI protocol negotiationCommercial disputes with accounting-system dataPersonal-injury files that still need phones and photos

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different from a request for production form?
The RFP form is the pleading: numbered requests, definitions, and instructions. This checklist is the inventory of sources and categories you should think through before you write those numbered requests, so you do not miss a chat platform or over-ask for an entire email domain.
What should we decide before serving ESI requests?
Custodians, date range, key terms or issues, systems (email, Slack, phones, backups), and production format. Those points belong in an ESI protocol when the case warrants one. A vague 'all emails' request invites a proportionality fight.
When do we ask for a privilege log?
When you expect withheld attorney-client or work-product material. Your instructions should state the log fields (date, author, recipients, privilege claimed, topic). Some local rules already prescribe the format.
Is this checklist a court form?
No. It is a planning aid. Follow the governing rules, any standing ESI order, and proportionality. This is not legal advice.

Checklist

Scope

Custodian list and date range tied to the claims and defenses
Required

Interview the client about who had the documents. Do not invent a ten-year range without a reason.

Paper

Paper files: contracts, correspondence, board books, and claim files
Required

Ask where boxes live (office, warehouse, home). Photograph tabs before scanning if chain of custody matters.

ESI

Email, calendar, and chat systems (including personal devices used for work)
Required

Record the vendor (Microsoft 365, Google, Slack). Note legal-hold status.

Phones, laptops, and backup or archive sources
Required

Include departed-employee archives. Flag encryption or BYOD issues.

Systems

Accounting, CRM, or operations systems that store the transactions in dispute

Export formats and who can run them. A screenshot is not a substitute for the ledger.

Evidence

Insurance policies, claim files, photographs, and video
Required

Common in tort and property cases. Ask for native photo metadata if authenticity will matter.

Privilege

Privilege-log fields and any protective-order or confidentiality terms
Required

Align with local rules. Identify counsel communications that should be withheld, not produced and clawed back later.

Protocol

Agreed or requested production format (native, TIFF+text, load files)

State this in the RFP instructions or a separate ESI protocol.