Setting the Table: Who's Actually in the Room?

• Who are the primary stakeholders for this matter (people or roles)? Options: Litigation Partner, VP, Legal Operations, Discovery Counsel, EA/Chief of Staff, Legal Project Manager, IT/Forensics Lead, Compliance Officer, Other
• Who will be the single person with final sign-off on vendor selection for this matter? Options: Litigation Partner, VP, Legal Operations, General Counsel, Managing Partner, Committee decision, Other
• How do these stakeholders prefer to be engaged during selection—executive summaries, technical deep dives, weekly check-ins, or ad hoc updates? Options: Executive summaries, Technical deep dives, Weekly scheduled calls, As-needed ad hoc updates, Dashboard only, Other
• Tell us about a past vendor engagement that left you confident—or wary—about outsourcing discovery. What stuck with you?
• How quickly can core stakeholders convene a decision meeting when needed? Options: Within 24 hours, 2–3 business days, Within one week, Longer than one week

Is Decision-Making a Team Sport—or a Tug of War?

• Who today could unilaterally stop this engagement if they objected—and why might they do that? Options: Budget owner, Litigation partner, VP Legal Ops, IT/security, Compliance, Other
• Where have decision handoffs broken down before—what happened and how long did it take to course-correct?
• Which stakeholder groups prioritize which outcomes (rank by priority: Cost, Speed, Defensibility, Usability, Control)? Options: Cost, Speed, Defensibility, Usability, Control/visibility
• How are disputes between stakeholders typically resolved (formal governance, escalation to GC, vote, or ad hoc)? Options: Formal governance committee, Escalate to General Counsel, Partner vote, Project manager decision, Ad hoc conversation
• Who will be the day-to-day owner for vendor coordination, and who is the backup?
• Are there informal influencers or external parties (co-counsel, clients, executives) who sway the decision? Who are they? Options: In-house counsel, Client/Company executives, Co-counsel, Outside consultants, None, Other

What Keeps You Up the Night Before a Deadline?

• When court deadlines accelerate, what single outcome do you fear most (missed production, privilege loss, cost blowout, defensibility challenge)? Options: Missed production date, Privilege disclosure, Cost blowout, Defensibility challenge, Other
• List the hard production deadlines and internal timeline milestones we must respect for this matter.
• How much scheduling cushion do you typically build in (weeks of buffer before court deadline)? Options: None (just-in-time), 1 week, 2–3 weeks, 4+ weeks
• Have you faced accelerated timelines recently? If yes, what failed and what worked? Options: Yes, failed, Yes, worked, Mixed results, No recent accelerated timelines
• What is your expected vendor response time for critical issues during collection and processing (hrs)? Options: <1 hour, 1–4 hours, 4–24 hours, Next business day
• How do timeline pressures affect team morale or client relationships—can you share a specific impact?

Which Custodians and Data Hide the Biggest Surprises?

• Which custodian(s) or data owners worry you most for hidden volume, unusual formats, or privileged material?
• Please provide the top custodians and their roles (name/title or role description).
• Which data sources do we need to collect from this roster (select all that apply)? Options: Email (on-prem/cloud), Enterprise chat (Slack/Teams), Cloud storage (Drive/SharePoint), Mobile devices, Databases, Collaboration apps (Confluence), CRM/ERP systems, Other
• Estimate expected data volumes by custodian or source (pick ranges or provide specifics). Options: <10 GB, 10–100 GB, 100–500 GB, 500 GB–2 TB, 2+ TB, Unknown/To be determined
• Are there known legacy systems, proprietary formats, or unsupported file types we should flag now? Please list.
• Are legal holds, privilege logs, or special access restrictions already in place for any custodians? Options: Yes - holds in place, Yes - privilege considerations, No, Unknown

Where Will Opposing Counsel Look to Undermine Your Review?

• If opposing counsel or a regulator were to attack our process, what single document or decision point would you worry they'd focus on?
• Which TAR/analytics elements are non-negotiable for your team to accept (seed-set transparency, reproducible models, third-party validation)? Options: Seed-set transparency, Reproducible model and logs, Third-party validation, Quantitative QC thresholds, None are non-negotiable
• Have your TAR protocols or vendor processing ever been litigated or challenged? If yes, briefly describe the outcome. Options: Yes - successfully defended, Yes - partially challenged, No, Not applicable
• What level of audit trail and documentation will satisfy your internal reviewers and outside counsel (raw logs, methodology memo, expert declaration)? Options: Raw logs, Methodology memo, Expert declaration, Chain-of-custody receipts, All of the above
• Are there particular judges, courts, or regulators handling this matter whose expectations we should design for? Name them.

What Success Actually Looks Like (Not Just 'Done')

• Finish this sentence: 'We will consider this engagement a success if…' (be specific and candid).
• Which KPIs will you use to judge success (pick all that apply)? Options: Total cost vs. budget, Timeliness of productions, TAR precision/recall, Number of privilege errors, Reviewer throughput, Stakeholder satisfaction
• What are the minimum acceptance criteria for a production batch (QC pass rate, TAR confidence threshold, sample error rate)?
• Who must sign off on acceptance at each stage (processing, TAR model, production)? Options: Litigation Partner, VP Legal Ops, Discovery Counsel, Client Representative, Other
• What SLAs are essential for you (response time, processing turnaround, remediation windows)? Options: Critical issue <1 hour, High <4 hours, Normal <24 hours, Processing SLA: X TB/week, Other
• How important is reviewer experience (ease of use, ergonomics) in whether a solution is adopted long-term? Options: Critical, Important, Nice to have, Not important

Who Will Carry the Baton After the Lights Go Down?

• When the project transitions from onboarding to steady-state, who must be able to explain the workflow in court or to regulators? Options: Litigation Partner, Discovery Counsel, Legal Ops Lead, Project Manager, IT/Forensics Lead
• Which internal teams will own custody, reviewer management, and escalation paths during production? Options: Legal Ops, Litigation Team, IT/Forensics, Compliance, Outside Counsel, Other
• What training, reviewer kits, or playbooks are required for your reviewers to be effective immediately? Options: Reviewer guide, Onboarding webinar, Quick-reference cheat sheet, Sample QC exercises, Other
• What escalation thresholds should trigger executive involvement (missed deadline, privilege breach, cost variance)? Options: Missed court deadline, Privilege exposure, Cost > budget by X%, QC failure rate threshold, Other
• Do you require formal chain-of-custody templates and custody handoff procedures? If yes, describe any mandatory elements. Options: Yes - strict templates, Yes - informal logs suffice, No - not required, Unsure
• How would you like status delivered during production (real-time dashboard, daily digest, weekly call, exception-only alerts)? Options: Real-time dashboard, Daily digest, Weekly status call, Exception-only alerts, Other

Ready to Run a Pilot That Actually Answers the Big Questions?

• If a short pilot could remove your top three unknowns, would you run it—what would stop you from saying yes? Options: Yes, nothing would stop us, Yes, but budget approval needed, Maybe - need stakeholder buy-in, No - prefer full rollout
• Which unknowns should a pilot prove out for you (select up to three)? Options: Processing fidelity, TAR defensibility, Reviewer throughput, Platform usability, Data format handling, Chain-of-custody integrity
• What slice of data would you consider representative for a pilot (custodians, time range, source types, approximate GB)?
• What success metrics must the pilot meet for you to greenlight full engagement? Options: QC pass rate threshold, TAR precision/recall targets, Reviewer satisfaction score, Processing accuracy metrics, Budget/ROI threshold
• What is an acceptable timeline and budget for a pilot in your view? Options: 48–72 hours and <$5k, 1–2 weeks and $5k–$25k, 2–4 weeks and $25k–$50k, Longer/more complex
• Who must sign off to run a pilot and who will evaluate the results? Options: Litigation Partner, VP Legal Ops, Discovery Counsel, Project Manager, Client representative, Other

Start With the People, Not the Files

• Who are the primary custodians we should know about for this matter (names, roles, team/function)?
• Approximately how many total custodians are you expecting to be in scope? Options: 1–5, 6–25, 26–100, 101–500, 500+
• Which custodian roles are most likely to hold key responsive material? Options: Litigation teams, Senior executives, Finance, HR, IT/Engineering, Sales/Commercial, Product, External counsel, Third-party vendors, Other
• Who is our day‑to‑day point of contact for custodian coordination and hold enforcement?
• Are any custodians already known to be non‑responsive, on leave, or otherwise difficult to reach? Options: Yes, a few, Yes, many, No, Unsure

Who Holds the Keys?

• If access to three critical custodians was blocked tomorrow, what would break first in your ability to meet deadlines?
• Do custodians store data primarily on company-managed systems, personal devices, or third‑party services? Options: Company-managed only, Mostly company-managed, Mixed company and personal, Mostly personal devices, Third‑party/contractor systems
• Which custodians control keys, encryption credentials, or unique admin access we must obtain?
• Which custodians have already been placed on legal hold and who issued those holds?
• Are there custodians whose devices or accounts are subject to separate HR or security investigations? Options: Yes, HR, Yes, Security, Both HR and Security, No, Unknown

Where the Data Hides (and Surprises Live)

• Which non‑obvious sources do you worry will upend your volume estimates? Options: Personal email/aliases, Cloud app shares (Drive/OneDrive/Dropbox), Collaboration tools (Slack/Teams), Mobile messaging (SMS/WhatsApp/iMessage), Backups & archives, CRM/ERP systems, Databases/Logs, Device images/forensics, Third‑party vendors, Other
• Which single system historically contains the largest percentage of responsive material in your matters? Options: Email (PST/Exchange), Network file shares, Cloud storage, Collaboration/chat apps, Databases, Endpoint images, Other
• How many distinct storage locations (mailboxes, shares, cloud tenants, devices) do you anticipate collecting from? Options: 1–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–1000, 1000+
• Are there legacy systems, decommissioned servers, or archival tapes that must be considered? Options: Yes — many, Yes — a few, No, Not sure
• Please list any data sources we should prioritize for an early pilot (include system name and why it’s important).

Formats That Break Tools (and Timelines)

• Which file formats or containers have caused processing failures or lengthy rework in past matters?
• Select the types of problematic formats we should prepare to handle: Options: PST/OST/EML, EDB/Exchange databases, Compressed archives (.zip, .7z), Proprietary app exports (e.g., Slack export), Databases/SQL dumps, Multimedia (audio/video), CAD/engineering files, Encrypted containers, Mobile backups, Other
• Estimate the percentage of data you expect to be non‑text or difficult to OCR (images, scans, multimedia). Options: 0–5%, 6–20%, 21–50%, 51–80%, 80%+
• Are there languages, character sets, or regional encodings we need to support? Options: English only, Common European languages, Asian languages, Right‑to‑left languages, Multiple uncommon languages, Unknown — will confirm
• Do you have known encrypted files, password‑protected archives, or containerized data that will require key retrieval? Options: Yes — keys available, Yes — keys unknown, No, Unsure

When Time Becomes an Enemy

• If the judge shortened your production window by half, where would you expect the first bottleneck to appear?
• What are the immovable production deadlines—court orders, regulatory cutoffs, or client drop‑dead dates?
• Do you expect rolling productions, batch deliveries, or a single final production? Options: Rolling productions, Batch deliveries, Single final production, Combination/other
• What is your ideal turnaround time from collection to ready‑for‑review for a typical custodian? Options: <48 hours, 2–7 days, 1–2 weeks, 2–4 weeks, Longer
• Which upstream activities (IT approvals, forensic imaging, vendor onboarding) have historically delayed timelines? Options: IT approvals, Forensic imaging, Vendor contracting, Custodian scheduling, Cross-border data requests, Other

What Keeps You Awake at Night?

• Which defensibility concern would you most worry an opponent would attack in court? Options: Chain‑of‑custody gaps, Processing errors, TAR/analytics methodology, Metadata integrity, Privileged document escape, Reviewer quality/inconsistency, Other
• Have you faced a successful challenge to processing or TAR in prior matters? Tell us briefly what happened.
• What documentation or artifacts would make you feel confident our process is defensible (e.g., logs, hashes, expert report)? Options: Hash manifests, Processing logs, Collection images, TAR protocol & seed sets, Expert declaration, Chain‑of‑custody forms, Other
• How much risk tolerance does the litigation partner or legal ops team have for novel TAR protocols vs. traditional linear review? Options: Prefer proven TAR with court precedent, Open to TAR with pilot validation, Neutral, Prefer linear/manual review
• Who on your side would be the likely challenger or lead opposing counsel in a defensibility dispute?

How We’ll Keep the Record Bulletproof

• If a judge asked for proof of our chain‑of‑custody tomorrow, what single record would make you say 'that’s sufficient'?
• Which of these evidence artifacts are non‑negotiable for your internal counsel to accept processing defensibility? Options: Original media images, MD5/SHA hashing, Time‑stamped logs, Signed collection forms, Detailed processing reports, Reviewer QC reports, TAR sampling results
• Would you require an expert declaration or a chain‑of‑custody attestation for production? Options: Expert declaration, Chain‑of‑custody attestation, Both, Neither, Undecided
• Are there internal or opposing counsel precedents we should align with (names of cases, judges, or opposing firms)?
• How should we present TAR transparency — protocol summary, seed set review, or full access to training logs? Options: Protocol summary, Seed set review with limited access, Full access to training logs, Executive summary + sample outputs

Deciding What to Pull (and What to Leave)

• What are the core custodians and systems you consider must‑collect versus nice‑to‑have?
• Which data types should be excluded unless specifically requested (e.g., system logs, HR files, archived backups)? Options: System logs, HR records, Legacy backups, Personal devices, Non‑responsive archives, None — include all
• Do you want early sampling or targeted collections to validate volume and responsiveness before a full collection? Options: Yes — sample first, Yes — targeted pilot, No — full collection now, Undecided
• For prioritized sources, what level of granularity do you want—full disk image, mailbox export, or selective folders? Options: Full disk image, Mailbox export, Selective folders/search terms, API-level export, Other
• Who should sign off on exclusions or scope reductions as collections proceed? Options: Litigation partner, VP Legal Ops, Discovery counsel, Project manager, Other

Counting the Cost Before It Surprises You

• Which hidden cost line item surprised you most in past productions? Options: Reprocessing after errors, Hosting overages, Extra privilege review, TAR retraining, Third‑party fees, Forensic imaging, Other
• Do you have a target budget or cost cap for processing and review that we must work within? Options: Fixed cap — must not exceed, Target but flexible, No budget defined, Undisclosed
• At what volume, cost, or time threshold should we pause and get formal approval before continuing? Options: % increase in cost, Additional TB threshold, Days beyond SLA, Number of custodians added, Other — specify
• Which billing model do you prefer for unpredictably large volumes? Options: Fixed fee per matter, Per‑GB processing + per reviewer hour, Blended monthly retainer, Tiered pricing with caps, Other
• Who is the budget approver for out‑of‑scope or change‑order charges?

Operational Roadblocks & Access Hurdles

• What single access or legal obstacle would stop collection entirely if not resolved?
• Do any custodians’ data fall under foreign privacy laws, contractual restrictions, or export controls? Options: GDPR/EEA, China/local law, Contractual NDA/PSA, Government data restrictions, No known restrictions, Unsure
• Will IT, security, or a third‑party need to approve or execute collections, and how fast do they respond? Options: IT executes — fast, IT executes — slow, Security involved — fast, Security involved — slow, Third‑party vendor, No approvals needed
• Are there systems we cannot access directly and would need a vendor or API handoff for? Options: Yes — cloud apps via vendor/API, Yes — proprietary systems, No — direct access available, Unknown
• What authentication or credential hurdles exist (MFA, 3rd‑party tokens, hardware keys)?

Signposts for Scope Creep and Change Control

• How would you prefer we flag and approve unexpected scope additions so costs and timelines don’t become surprises? Options: Immediate stop + written approval, Notify + proceed under budget tolerance, Escalate at weekly checkpoint, Auto‑approve up to threshold
• What thresholds (GB, custodians, cost, time) should trigger an automatic re‑estimate? Options: % increase in GB, Additional custodians count, Cost increase %, Time beyond SLA, Other — specify
• Who must sign off on change orders—role and contact?
• Are there prior examples of scope creep we should learn from? What went wrong and how could it have been flagged earlier?
• What cadence and format do you prefer for status and scope‑change reporting? Options: Daily email + dashboard, Weekly call + summary, Ad hoc alerts only, Real‑time dashboard + alerts

Practical Next Steps — What We Need to Start

• If we had to produce a defensibility‑ready sample collection in 48 hours, what three things must we receive from you first?
• Which of these items can you provide immediately to kick off collections? Options: Custodian list with emails, Admin credentials / token, Legal hold documentation, Sample dataset for pilot, Access approvals from IT, None currently available
• Would you like a short pilot (processing + TAR on representative data) before full engagement to validate defensibility? Options: Yes — pilot required, Yes — recommended, Optional, No — proceed to full engagement
• Who should be on the core working group (names/roles) for daily coordination during collection and processing?
• Select any immediate red flags we should escalate before starting collections: Options: Missing hold notices, Unknown encryption keys, Major unknown data sources, Budget cap unavailable, IT non‑cooperation, Cross‑border restrictions

Starting Together: Case Snapshot

• Give us the short version: what is the matter and what stage are you at right now?
• Who will be our primary point of contact and what role do they hold? Options: Litigation partner, VP, Legal Operations, Discovery counsel, Legal project manager, IT/security lead, Other
• What triggered this engagement? Options: New litigation filed, Regulatory investigation, Data breach / incident response, Enterprise discovery consolidation, Other
• Are there court orders, regulator deadlines, or preservation requirements we need to see up front? Provide dates or a brief description.
• How do you prefer status updates during discovery? Options: Daily operational updates, Twice weekly, Weekly executive summary, Ad hoc for issues only, Other

Who Really Decides — and What Breaks a Deal?

• If this matter’s discovery went sideways and you were asked why, who would be held accountable — and what would that person say went wrong?
• Which individuals or groups must sign off on vendor selection and commercial/legal terms? Options: Litigation partner(s), VP, Legal Ops, Compliance officer, Finance/procurement, General counsel, IT/security, Other
• Which decision criteria would immediately stop you from moving forward with a provider? Options: Unpredictable costs, No court‑validated TAR protocol, Weak chain‑of‑custody, Inadequate SLAs, Security/compliance gaps, Inability to scale reviewers quickly, Other
• How long does each key decision‑maker usually take to respond to vendor questions or change requests? Options: <24 hours, 1–3 business days, 4–7 business days, >1 week
• Has a previous vendor interaction changed your internal approval process—what rules or guardrails do we need to know about?

Data Reality Check: What’s Under the Hood?

• What kinds of surprises in your data set would make a vendor look indefensible in court?
• Approximately how many custodians are in scope for initial collection? Options: <10, 10–50, 51–200, 201–1,000, >1,000, Unsure
• What is your best estimate of total native data volume? Options: <100 GB, 100 GB–500 GB, 500 GB–2 TB, 2 TB–10 TB, >10 TB, Unsure
• Which data sources are in‑scope right now (select all that apply)? Options: Email (Exchange/Office365), Chat/messaging (Teams/Slack), Cloud drives (Box/Google Drive/OneDrive), Mobile device backups, Enterprise apps (Salesforce, Workday), Databases, Local desktops/servers, Other
• Are there file types or proprietary systems you suspect won’t convert cleanly (e.g., source code, legacy CAD, proprietary audio/video)? List them or select below. Options: Known problematic file types exist, No known problematic types, Unsure
• If you selected 'Known problematic file types exist', please list them and note any required handling or vendor constraints.
• Are there technical or legal constraints we must plan around (encryption, export/egress limits, remote custodians, data subject protections)?

Time, Cost, and Court Pressure — How Tight Is Tight?

• If the judge cut your timeline by one week, what would be the first thing that would fail?
• List the hard production deadlines and any interim deliverable dates we must meet.
• Will productions be phased or rolling? If yes, describe the expected phases and any anticipated volumes per phase. Options: Single bulk production, Phased/rolling production, Staged by custodian or custodian group, Other
• Which cost model aligns with procurement and budget expectations? Options: Fixed‑fee per matter, Per‑GB processing + per‑doc review, Hourly / time & materials, Subscription/enterprise pricing, Hybrid
• Do you have an explicit discovery budget or cap we must stay within? If so, what is it and how flexible is it?
• When trade‑offs are required, how would you rank priorities among speed, cost, and defensibility? Options: Speed first, Cost first, Defensibility first, Balanced / situational
• What penalties or operational impacts have you previously faced for missing a production deadline?

Defensibility & Risk — What Keeps You Up at Night?

• What single argument could opposing counsel make to successfully challenge your production?
• Have you used TAR in this jurisdiction before and what was the outcome? Options: Used and accepted by court, Used and challenged/litigated, Not used but open to it, Not used and likely opposed, Unknown
• Which defensibility elements are deal‑breakers for you? Options: Court‑reported TAR protocol, Comprehensive audit trails, Verified hash integrity and custody, Independent QC reports, Chain‑of‑custody signatures, Other
• How do you currently measure reviewer quality and what minimum QC thresholds do you require?
• What level of transparency do you expect around model training, seed sets, and scoring to feel comfortable in court? Options: Full transparency (seed sets + rationale), Detailed metrics without seed disclosure, High‑level metrics only, Minimal disclosure for confidentiality
• If we proposed a pilot, which acceptance metrics would make you sign off on a TAR workflow?

How Do You Want This to Feel at the End?

• Imagine the judge praised your production—what did we deliver that earned that praise?
• Which final deliverables will make your team comfortable (select all that apply)? Options: Load files (Relativity, Concordance, other), Native files, Redacted produced PDFs, Privilege logs, QC and validation reports, TAR model documentation, Other
• What reporting cadence and level of detail will reassure your stakeholders during production? Options: Daily operational dashboard, Weekly executive summary, Per‑batch QC report, Event‑driven notifications only, Other
• Who should retain access to chain‑of‑custody records and audit logs after production? Options: Internal legal team only, Internal + external counsel, Court‑appointed neutral also, Shared with opposing counsel under protective order, Other
• What reviewer training or kits would you like before reviewers begin (search strategies, issue codes, quality checklists)? Options: We will provide full kits, We expect vendor templates, Joint creation with our team, Unsure
• How should post‑production issues (late hits, metadata exceptions) be handled and who should be the escalation owner? Options: Vendor resolves and reports, Joint law firm + vendor review, Immediate notification to senior partner, Other

Practical Handoffs & Blockers Before We Deploy

• What single missing permission, credential, or document would stop us from beginning collection the moment we try?
• Which systems will we need credentials or API access for (choose all that apply)? Options: Email servers (Exchange/Office365), Cloud storage (Box/Google Drive/OneDrive), Collaboration tools (Teams/Slack), Mobile device management systems, Databases, SaaS apps (Salesforce, etc.), Local file servers, Other
• Do you require formal custody handoff documentation or signed chain‑of‑custody before any collection? Options: Formal signed COH required, Electronic acknowledgement sufficient, Verbal approval / point of contact ok, Depends on custodian
• Are there file types, custodians, or systems we should explicitly exclude or handle differently? Please list and indicate the reason.
• Who will supply reviewer kits (search term sets, issue codes, decision trees) and when will they be available relative to processing start? Options: Guest provides before kick‑off, Host provides templates for customization, Jointly created during pilot, Unsure
• Please provide escalation contacts (name, role, preferred contact method) for processing, review, and legal questions.
• What processing windows and blackout dates should we plan around (business hours, weekends allowed, specific no‑work dates)? Options: 24/7 operations allowed, Business hours only, Weekends allowed for collection only, Specific blackout dates (will list), Other

Case Snapshot — Quick Intro

• What short name or matter code should we use for this engagement?
• Which of these best describes the matter type? Options: Commercial litigation, Regulatory investigation, Data breach/incident response, Employment dispute, Class action, Internal investigation, Other
• When was the matter opened and what is your most urgent milestone right now? Options: Opened within last week, Opened within last month, Opened 1–3 months ago, Opened 3+ months ago, Immediate/Judge-set deadline
• Who will be our day-to-day point of contact for discovery logistics and decisions?
• Roughly how quickly do you need an initial production-ready dataset (best guess)? Options: Within 48 hours, Within 1 week, 2–4 weeks, More than 4 weeks, Unsure
• What would you most like us to understand about this matter before we dive into technical discovery?

Is the Clock Already Ticking?

• If opposing counsel or a judge asked for proof of defensibility today, where would we be most exposed?
• How confident are you that your current collection and processing practices would survive a court challenge? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Neutral/Unsure, Not confident
• Have you faced an objection or motion related to e-discovery process or TAR in this matter or similar matters before? Options: Yes—sustained/serious, Yes—but resolved without impact, No previous objections, Not sure
• What formal documentation (protocols, chain-of-custody logs, validation reports) do you currently maintain that we should review?
• How long has your team been using your current discovery approach or vendor for matters like this? Options: Less than 6 months, 6 months–1 year, 1–3 years, 3+ years, Varies by matter

Who's In The Room — Custodians and Stakeholders

• What happens to your timeline if a key custodian becomes unreachable during collection?
• Approximately how many custodians do you expect to be in scope? Options: 1–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–1,000, 1,000+
• Which stakeholder roles will sign off on discovery decisions? Options: Litigation partner(s), VP Legal Ops, Discovery counsel, Project manager, In-house counsel, IT/Systems admin, Other
• Which custodians or teams are highest priority for early collection and review, and why?
• How accessible are custodians' primary data sources (email, cloud, mobile) today? Options: Immediate access available, Access requires approvals (multi-day), Access limited/needs legal holds, Some custodians inaccessible, Unsure
• How familiar and comfortable are your stakeholders with technology-assisted review (TAR) as a defensible approach? Options: Very comfortable and supportive, Some supporters, some skeptics, Neutral/Need education, Prefer linear/manual review

Where the Data Lives — Sources, Formats, and Surprise Risks

• Which single data source would be most likely to derail processing or cause a defensibility question?
• Select the data sources you expect to be in scope for collection. Options: Corporate email (Exchange/Office365), Enterprise cloud storage (Box, Google Drive, OneDrive), Chat/messaging (Slack, Teams, WhatsApp), Mobile devices, File servers/NAS, HR/CRM systems, Personal accounts (Gmail, iCloud), Other
• Estimate the total data volume you expect to produce initially (raw size). Options: <10 GB, 10–100 GB, 100 GB–1 TB, 1–10 TB, 10+ TB, Unsure
• Are there known unsupported or highly problematic file formats we should flag in advance?
• Does the matter include ephemeral or third-party-managed messaging (e.g., auto-deleting chat, vendor-hosted apps)? Options: Yes—ephemeral messaging present, Yes—third-party archival only, No, Unsure
• Are there encryption, password protection, or export limitations affecting collections? Options: Significant limits (many encrypted files), Some encrypted/password-protected items, None known, Unsure

Deadlines, Budgets, and What Really Matters

• If you had to pick one: which matters more—meeting every court deadline, staying under budget, or producing an ironclad defensible record? Options: Meeting court deadlines, Staying within budget, Absolute defensibility, Balanced equally
• What is your first court-imposed or self-imposed production deadline (date or timeframe)?
• Is the primary deadline flexible if we can show a defensibility or quality improvement? Options: No—hard deadline, Somewhat flexible with notice, Flexible if agreed by stakeholders, Unsure
• How would you characterize your budget model for this matter? Options: Fixed fee for scope, Time & materials / hourly, Blended (fixed + success fee), Per-document / per-Gb, Undetermined
• What cost sensitivities or thresholds would make you stop or pause production?
• Which trade-offs would you accept to meet a tough deadline (select all that apply)? Options: Increase budget, Reduce scope of early productions, Prioritize certain custodians, Accept phased productions, Tolerate lower initial QC levels

How You Judge Success — Metrics, Evidence, and Trust

• Would you accept a production that reduces cost but allows a small, quantified miss-rate in recall if it lowers risk of missing the court deadline? Options: Yes, with agreed threshold, No—recall must be maximized, Maybe—depends on specifics, Unsure
• What TAR performance metrics are non-negotiable for your team (choose up to three)? Options: Recall target (e.g., 75%+), Precision target, F1 score, Stability across batches, Validated seed-set & reproducibility, External auditability
• Which QC and audit approaches do you prefer for production batches? Options: Statistical sampling (confidence intervals), Dual-review verification, Third-party validation, Automated metric dashboards, Ad hoc spot checks
• Do you require a documented validation report or the ability to produce a TAR protocol in court? Options: Yes—detailed validation required, Yes—summary validation acceptable, No formal requirement, Unsure
• What artifacts or documentation will satisfy your internal stakeholders and be shared externally if challenged?

What Keeps You Up at Night — Risks and Red Flags

• Which single risk would make you consider changing vendors before production starts?
• Select risks you've actually experienced in prior matters. Options: Unsupported file formats, TAR seed-set issues / poor precision, Chain-of-custody gaps, Reviewer staffing shortages, Missed production deadlines, Budget overruns, Opposition motions challenging process
• Tell us about a prior vendor or internal process failure and the consequences—what stuck with your team?
• How quickly would you expect a critical incident to be escalated and acknowledged? Options: Within 1 hour, Within 4 hours, Within 24 hours, By next business day
• What remediation actions would restore your confidence after a discovery failure? Options: Detailed root-cause report, Re-run with remedial controls, Third-party audit, Personnel change, Monetary remediation

Try-Before-You-Bet — Pilot & Validation Expectations

• If a pilot nails usability but doesn't fully validate TAR defensibility, would you consider proceeding to production? Options: Yes—if mitigations are agreed, No—TAR defensibility required, Depends on pilot scope/results, Unsure
• What are the top three objectives a pilot must demonstrate for you to greenlight production?
• What size and composition do you consider representative for a pilot (select one)? Options: Small (1–5 GB; few custodians), Medium (5–100 GB; cross-functional custodians), Large (100+ GB; varied sources), Not sure—advise us
• How long should a pilot/validation phase run to be meaningful? Options: 48–72 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3–4 weeks, Longer than a month
• What deliverables after the pilot will make you comfortable to proceed (examples: validation report, reproducible script, third-party sign-off)?
• Would you be open to an iterative pilot approach that expands scope only after passing predefined checkpoints? Options: Yes—preferred, Maybe—depends on terms, No—single pilot only

Practicalities — Access, Security, and Logistics

• If we could begin collections tomorrow, what's the first logistical hurdle we'd face?
• Which access methods are available and acceptable for collections? Options: Remote collection via secure agent, On-site collection by forensics team, Vendor-assisted exports from SaaS admin console, Custodian self-collection with guidance, API-based exports
• What security or compliance controls must we meet (choose all that apply)? Options: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, CJIS, HIPAA, Encryption at rest/in transit, Data residency restrictions, Other
• Are there contractual or regulatory restrictions on where data can be processed or stored? Options: Yes—specific region required, Yes—within company-owned infrastructure, No restrictions, Unsure
• What chain-of-custody handoff artifacts or stamps do you require for collections? Options: Hash logs, Photographic evidence, Signed transfer forms, Encrypted transfer reports, Detailed collection manifests, Other
• What is your preferred cadence and channel for project updates and escalations? Options: Daily stand-up calls, Twice-weekly status email, Weekly executive summary, Real-time chat channel (Slack/Teams), Dedicated portal only

Decision Drivers and Next Steps

• What's the single unanswered question that would stop your team from signing an agreement today?
• What is your decision timeline for selecting a discovery provider? Options: Immediate/this week, Within 2 weeks, 2–4 weeks, 1–3 months, Undecided
• Who ultimately makes the vendor selection decision? Options: Litigation partner, VP Legal Ops, General counsel, Procurement, Collective committee, Other
• Which commercial model would you prefer for this engagement? Options: Fixed SOW for defined scope, Time & materials, Per-GB / per-document pricing, Blended outcome-based, Pilot then negotiated SOW
• What legal or procurement approvals are required before we can execute an SOW (and how long do they typically take)?
• What date works for a technical discovery session (to review custodians, sample exports, and run a quick connectivity test)?