3 BEST PRACTICES

CUSTODIAN  INTERVIEWS

for eDiscovery

an interview of a person having administrativecontrol of a document or electronic file in attemptsto locate potentially relevant ESI - commonlyconducted for investigations or discovery purposes

(noun)

custodian interview

While eDiscovery service providers

stress the importance of consistency -

every case, IT environment, and

custodian is different making it difficult

to leverage templates and repeatable

workflows for the interview process.

When done properly and thoroughly, custodian interviews

will arm you with proper information to negotiate a

reasonable scope of discovery.

So, how can you make sureyour next custodianinterview is a success?

1 2 3

When done properly and thoroughly, custodian interviews

will arm you with proper information to negotiate a

reasonable scope of discovery.

So, how can you make sureyour next custodianinterview is a success?

1

FOCUS ON

THE CASE

VERIFY

THE FACTS

2

DOCUMENT

THE PROCESS

3

Focus on the case01

example template questions:

What work did you do?

Who did you do it with?

What files did you make or

receive?

What emails did you make or

receive?

What copies did you make then?

What computers did you use?

What software(s) did you use?

While a custodian interviewtemplate is a good starting point,it will have little to do with yourclient or the specifics of the case.

Template information focuses primarily on stored

information, infrastructure, business systems,

servers, databases and a record retention policy.

Template information focuses primarily on stored

information, infrastructure, business systems,

servers, databases and a record retention policy.

All of which is crucialinformation to theprocess, so bring along atech if you need help.

When utilizing a template in the beginningof the process, you must also keep in mindspecifics that are unique to the case, yourclient, and individual custodians.

InterviewTemplate

When utilizing a template in the beginningof the process, you must also keep in mindspecifics that are unique to the case, yourclient, and individual custodians.

InterviewTemplate

Specific Case

Client

Case

Custodian

They might be using applications that you haven’t considered.

Once you have the basic information that youneed, take the time to understand howindividuals are communicating in their space. 

1. EMAIL 2. SOCIAL MEDIA

3. CHAT APPLICATIONS 4. STORAGE AND SYNC

Thinking outside the custodian interview box

1. EMAIL 2. SOCIAL MEDIA

3. CHAT APPLICATIONS 4. STORAGE AND SYNC

Have you asked them aboutpersonal account(s) that theyaccess at work?

What social platforms do theyuse to communicate aboutwork projects?

Besides the traditional stockapplications, what other chatplatforms do they use?

Have you asked about DropBox,Evernote, and Google Drives?What about iTunes or iCloud?

Thinking outside the custodian interview box

Interviews are used to figure out who did what,when and why and preferably in chronological order.

Ask for words, names and dates

Having the chronology of the situation will help you

evaluate potential witnesses and the strength of the

client's case.

Ask for words, names and dates

WhoWhat

Where WhyWhen

Code words, acronyms

and abbreviations that

were used

Nicknames for projects

and people

Naming conventions for

files

Beginning, ending and

critical dates

Ask custodians for details along

the way to help you identify

potentially responsive material

that may have otherwise been

deemed non-responsive.

Don't find yourself at deposition learning for the firsttime that when you did your interview, your witnesswas talking about their job two jobs ago, in a differentdepartment, in a different office, on a differentcomputer, with different access and IT support.

Ask about changes, history and support

Where were you working when

all this happened?

Were you using this computer

or did you get a new one since

then?

Were you using this software?

Did you have access to anything

then that you don't use now?

When you need computer

support for access, software or

hardware who did you call?

Who did you call back then?

Ask all questions

pertaining to the history

of the custodian.

Verify the Facts02

Interview IT, but verify the factsTake the time to confirm with custodiansthat various IT policies are being followed ‐and if they're not, where that informationcould be located.

Interview IT, but verify the factsTake the time to confirm with custodiansthat various IT policies are being followed ‐and if they're not, where that informationcould be located.

For example, IT may say that no cloud-based

email systems are used, but an employee sends

information through their Gmail account.

If you only rely on IT’saccount of where informationis located, there is a greaterchance that you could misspotentially relevant ESI.

Trust

Verify

In most situations, you need to see at least some of

the data you discuss with your clients to decide

what is important to your case.

In most situations, you need to see at least some of

the data you discuss with your clients to decide

what is important to your case.

If you’re interviewing someoneand the computer is on, ask tosee some of the emails you arediscussing, folders where thefiles are kept, and specifics aboutdocument management systems.

Document the Process03

In order to negotiate a reasonablescope of discovery, you mustdocument the entire process.

As you interview custodians and ITprofessionals, your documentation willhelp build a collection plan.

For example, let's say during the interview you find in

your notes that 7 of 8 custodians point to the same

folder in the marketing share as the place where they

store their project materials.

For example, let's say during the interview you find in

your notes that 7 of 8 custodians point to the same

folder in the marketing share as the place where they

store their project materials.

Once the information isverified you can avoidhaving to collectabsolutely everywhere inthe client’s computingenvironment. 

Conclusion04

In the end, custodian

interviews will arm you with

a discovery plan that will be

shared with adversary and

the court.

custodian interviews should

leave you with:

Valuable information about

the case

Identify potential witnesses

Locate relevant ESI

Ability to negotiate a

proportional scope of ESI

Along the way, you can manage

the risk associated with the case,

and develop defensibility you

may need to ward off challenges

to preservation and scope.

So, how can you make sureyour next custodianinterview is a success?

1 2 3

So, how can you make sureyour next custodianinterview is a success?

1

FOCUS ON

THE CASE

VERIFY

THE FACTS

2

DOCUMENT

THE PROCESS

3

DOWNLOAD YOUR GUIDE NOW

Locating relevant ESI is just the beginning...After collection and processing, it's imperative to have a plan before beginning review.

[Guide] Creating a Strategic Review Plan withPost‐Processing Data Analysis

Performing a pre-review analysis may help save you both cost and time - time thatcan be spent preparing for a case instead.