Facilitator Guide

Document Review and Production

Facilitator Guide

Document Review and Production

Topic: Civil Litigation Basics
Duration: 1 hr
Format: Remote or in person

What’s covered

The reasons why litigators review documents
Reviewing documents for production
Reviewing documents for confidentiality, privilege and other protections
Tips for effective document review
Overview of process of producing documents

Before the session

Prepare the Attendees

Send the attendees an invitation for the session. Include this link, which has the videos and exercise they’ll need to prepare.

https://www.hotshotlegal.com/trainings/document-review-and-production/attendee

Prepare Yourself

Watch the videos and read the exercise so you’re familiar with the Hotshot material.

Course

10 Tips for Doc Review

Practical tips for lawyers new to conducting a document review. Includes tips on how to add value, organizing and escalating documents, and managing mistakes.
Course

Document Review and Production

An overview of how to conduct a document review, including an explanation of the various purposes and goals and how a review might be structured. Also includes an introduction to producing documents and drafting production cover letters.
Exercise
PDF

During the session

Part 1: Knowledge Check

Ask attendees these questions to ensure they understand the topic:

What are some reasons that litigators review documents, and what’s the main purpose of doc review in civil litigation?
What’s a document “custodian”?
What does it mean to review a document for responsiveness?
What are the two ways a protective order can allow parties to designate produced documents as confidential?
How do lawyers decide if a document is privileged and shouldn’t be produced?
What are some steps a lawyer reviewing a production before it goes out can take to check that mistakes weren’t made?
When doing a doc review, what are the things you should be sure you understand?
What are issue tags and how do they help organize a doc review?
What should you do if you discover that a privileged document was accidentally produced?

Part 2: Group Exercise

Lead a group discussion based on the exercise. To encourage collaboration, divide the attendees into groups to discuss the exercise, then have a representative from each group summarize their views to the larger group. Call on people to share their thoughts and ask others to respond.

Tip for remote sessions: use your web conferencing system’s breakout room feature to divide people into groups.

Part 3: War Stories and Firm Specifics

Share your own experiences and guidance, including:

Anecdotes and war stories (e.g., about a near-disaster or a tough negotiation)
General practice tips (dos and don’ts)
Firm-specific guidance and practices

After the session

To continue their learning, attendees can check out related courses in Hotshot's Civil Litigation Basics topic.

About Hotshot

Hotshot helps lawyers develop their legal, business, and technology skills through short videos, quizzes, and summaries, and we help law firms and law schools plan and deliver engaging training programs. Our customers include Am Law 200 firms, top law schools, and regional and international firms.