An Everlaw production protocol template is essentially a set of defaults commonly used for a particular type of production. You can select a production protocol template as a starting point, make any desired modifications, and save that modified protocol as a custom protocol.
To use an Everlaw production protocol template, go to Data Transfer > Productions > + New protocol. You will see the option to start with Everlaw's recommended template or select a protocol tailored to a particular use case. Selecting any of the template options will bring you to the standard production protocol wizard, pre-populated with defaults that match the specifications of your selected template. All templates require some fields to be filled out by you and allow for total customization. For more information on the customization within the production protocol wizard, please visit Create a Production Protocol.
After reaching the end of the production protocol wizard, you will be asked to save your production protocol. This protocol will be accessible through the Protocols tab alongside all other user-created protocols. The Everlaw protocol template will not be modified, and users will be able to create a different custom protocol using the same template as a starting point.
You will also be able to use your own custom protocols (within the same project) as a starting point to create new protocols. To do so, navigate to the New Protocol tab and select the option to Use an existing protocol as a template. From there, you will be able to select the desired existing protocol from the dropdown.
Everlaw currently offers the following additional templates: SEC Production Template and Common DSAR Template.
Everlaw Recommended Template
This template has settings that are either not pre-populated at all or that are pre-populated with defaults that are commonly used in litigations. The defaults are as follows:
| Details page |
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| Image details page |
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| Redactions, natives, and text |
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| Withheld or privileged |
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| Placeholders |
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| Load file metadata fields |
Blank by default, but we recommend users select "Use Everlaw defaults" which includes the following metadata:
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| Additional Options |
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SEC Production Template
The default settings in the SEC Production Template will create a production that matches the specifications for file and metadata formatting laid out in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Data Delivery Standards, which can be found on the public SEC website.
However, please note that Everlaw is not able to satisfy all SEC production requirements automatically. Users must still ensure that their documents are in the correct file format with the necessary metadata, separately provide a cover letter and passwords for encrypted data, ensure that the correct information has been redacted, ensure that filenames include only allowed characters, and so on. This template is only intended to be used as a starting point for producing to the SEC; users will still need to independently verify that their production has met the specifications.
The defaults in the SEC template differ from the standard Everlaw Recommended Template as follows:
| Details page |
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| Image details page |
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| Redactions, natives, and text |
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| Withheld or privileged |
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| Placeholders |
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| Load file metadata fields* |
The following fields will be included by default:
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| Additional Options |
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When you reach the load file creation step, you may see a dialog box asking if you want to add the missing metadata fields to the project. This dialog box shows up for both SEC and DOJ production protocols. To learn more about it, please skip to the Special Metadata Fields section below.
DOJ Production Protocol Template
The default settings in the template will create a production that matches the specifications for file and metadata formatting laid out in the Standard Specifications for Production of ESI and/or Hard Copy as Images and Text by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (2019).
Again, please note that Everlaw is not able to satisfy all DOJ production requirements automatically. Users must still ensure that their documents have the required notations (such as Privilege or Hard Copy Document), separately provide passwords for encrypted data, ensure that the correct information has been redacted, ensure that filenames include only allowed characters, and so on. This template is only intended to be used as a starting point for producing to the DOJ; users will still need to independently verify that their production has met the specifications.
The defaults in the DOJ template differ from the standard Everlaw Recommended Template as follows:
| Details page |
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| Image details page |
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| Redactions, natives, and text |
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| Withheld or privileged |
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| Image Placeholders |
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| Load File Metadata Fields |
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| Additional Options |
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Special Metadata Fields
When you reach the load file creation step for either the SEC or DOJ production protocol template, you may see the following dialog box:
You will see this dialog box if your project does not already contain all of the standard SEC or DOJ metadata fields. Everlaw projects do not include metadata fields before documents have been uploaded, so if you are creating this protocol before uploading any documents, you will see this message.
If you have already uploaded the documents to be produced and you still see this message, your documents do not contain values for all metadata fields listed by the DOJ or SEC. This is expected, as the list of DOJ fields is very thorough, and not all documents need to have values in every metadata field. Therefore, if you have already uploaded the documents to be produced, we recommend selecting No here, as any additional metadata fields added will simply be blank for all documents in the load file.
However, if you are creating the production protocol before adding any documents to your project, you may want to consider adding the missing metadata fields to the project and protocol so that you won't have to add them to the protocol later.
If you choose to add the missing metadata fields to your protocol, you will also see the option to include nonstandard metadata fields. These fields are included in the DOJ load file list but are not considered standard fields on Everlaw. They include: Chat Room Name, Company, Conversation Index, Delivery Receipt, Direction, Duration, First Chat ID, Importance, Last Author, Read Receipt, Revision, Sensitivity, and Status. We recommend adding nonstandard fields only if you expect to upload documents in the future with nonstandard metadata.
If you choose to include nonstandard metadata fields, Everlaw will kick off a task that adds these nonstandard metadata fields to your entire project. Because this action affects the entire project, only users with project admin and higher permissions can perform this task.
Please feel free to contact Support if you have additional questions regarding SEC or DOJ special metadata fields.
DOJ Load File Fields
| DOJ load file field name | Everlaw load file field used | Description |
| DOCID | Begin Bates | Begin Bates value generated during production |
| ENDDOC | End Bates | End Bates value generated during production |
| COMPANIES | None | Specific text field (users must fill out) |
| CUSTODIAN | Custodian | First custodian of a document |
| ALLCUSTODIANS | All Custodians | All custodians in possession of a deduplicated document |
| MEDIAID | None | Specific text field (users must fill out) |
| VOLUMENAME | None | Specific text field (users must fill out) |
| BEGATTACH | AttachBates | Bates number of each child document, populated for parent only |
| ENDATTACH | EndFamily | Last Bates number of last document in the family, populated for children and parent |
| EPROPERTIES | DOJ EDoc Properties |
Maps the document type to one of the DOJ-specified record types
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| TIMEZONE | None | Specific text field (users must fill out) |
| FOLDERLABEL | Custodian and Mailbox Path | Folder path of an email plus custodian name |
| FROM | From | (Email, calendar, chat) Sender |
| TO | To | (Email, calendar, chat) Recipient(s) |
| CC | Cc | (Email, calendar, chat) Copyees |
| BCC | Bcc | (Email, calendar, chat) Blind copyees |
| SUBJECT | Subject | (Email, calendar, chat) Subject line |
| DATESENT | Date Sent | (Email, calendar, chat) Date Sent in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS |
| DATERECEIVED | Date Received | (Email, calendar, chat) Date Received in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS |
| INTERNTMSGID | Message Id | (Email, calendar) Internet message ID assigned by outgoing mail server |
| INREPLYTO | In Reply To | (Email, calendar) Internet message ID of email being replied to |
| CONVERSATIONINDEX | Conversation Index | (Email, calendar) Conversation index value for Microsoft Exchange emails |
| IMPORTANCE | Importance | (Email, calendar, chat) Priority level set for the message |
| DELIVERYRECEIPT | Delivery Receipt | (Email, calendar) Delivery receipt request notification |
| READRECEIPT | Read Receipt | (Email, calendar) Read receipt request notification |
| SENSITIVITY | Sensitivity | (Email, calendar) Sensitivity |
| REVISION | Revision | Revision number in native metadata |
| DATECREATED | Date Created | (Email, calendar, chat) Date Created in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS |
| DATESAVED | Date Saved | (Email, calendar, chat) Date Saved in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS |
| EORGANIZATION | Company | Company field value in native metadata |
| EAUTHOR | Author | Author field value in native metadata |
| LASTAUTHOR | Last Author | Last Saved By in native metadata |
| FILENAME | Original Filename | Original file name including file extension |
| APPLICATION | Application | Application used to create original native files |
| FILEEXTENSION | File Extension | File extension of original native file |
| FILEPATH | File Path | Full original file path |
| DOCLINK | Native Path | Native path |
| DATESTART | Date | (Calendar and chat) Start date/time in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS |
| DATEEND | End Date | (Calendar and chat) End date/time in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS |
| ACCOUNT | None | Specific text field (users must fill out) |
| DURATION | Duration | Duration of audio/video file in HH:MM:SS |
| DIRECTION | Direction | (Chat only) Direction of communication: Outgoing/Incoming |
| TXT-CHATROOMNAME | Chat Room Name | (Chat only) Name of chat room |
| TXT-PARTICIPANTS | Chat Contributors | (Chat only) List of all chat contributors |
| TXT-BODY | Chat text | (Chat only) Entire chat transcript (up to 32767 characters) |
| TXT-STATUS | Status | (Chat only) Indicates whether chat was Sent or Read |
| TXT-THREAD-GROUP | (Chat only) Bates number of the first text in a chat | |
| HASHMD5 | MD5 Hash | MD5 hash used for deduplication and processing |
| HASHSHA | SHA1 Hash | SHA1 hash used for deduplication and processing |
| SPECNO | None | Specific text field (users must fill out) |
| SEARCHVALUES | Search Terms |
For this field to be active, users must select an existing Search Term Report. If the document is responsive to any terms in that STR, those terms will be listed in this field. Note that the field will be populated for the document even if the document is not included in the STR’s original document set. |
Common DSAR Template
The default settings in the Common DSAR Template will create a production that combines all images into a single PDF, with no text files, load files, or privilege logs. This production format is often used for DSAR (Data Subject Access Request), FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), and other public record request productions.
However, please note that there currently is no standard DSAR production format. Everlaw is providing this modifiable template for your convenience only, and it is your responsibility to ensure the production format is acceptable for your particular needs.
The defaults in the Common DSAR Template differ from the standard Everlaw defaults as follows:
| Details page |
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| Image details page |
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| Redactions, natives, and text |
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| Withheld or privileged |
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| Placeholders |
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| Load file metadata fields |
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| Additional Options |
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