---
title: "Draft a litigation-hold notice from the claim or investigation"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/draft-a-litigation-hold-notice-from-the-claim-or-investigation/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A40-A20260923-4-US"
practice_area: "In-House / General Counsel"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Draft a litigation-hold notice from the claim or investigation

> Draft the hold from the custodians, systems and date range the lawyer names. Do not decide when the duty to preserve arose and do not name a custodian the lawyer has not listed.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/draft-a-litigation-hold-notice-from-the-claim-or-investigation/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [In-House / General Counsel](https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Draft the hold from the custodians, systems and date range the lawyer names. Do not decide when the duty to preserve arose and do not name a custodian the lawyer has not listed. |
| What the lawyer must review | Rule 37(e) applies when electronically stored information that should have been preserved in the anticipation or conduct of litigation is lost because a party failed to take reasonable steps, and it cannot be restored or replaced. The rule is based on the common-law duty; it does not create a new one. Severe measures, including an adverse-inference instruction, require a finding of intent to deprive another party of the information. The lawyer decides the trigger, the custodians and the sources, and reads the notice before it goes out. State-court preservation duties are not Rule 37(e). |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Draft a litigation-hold notice from the claim or investigation](https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/draft-a-litigation-hold-notice-from-the-claim-or-investigation.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Draft the hold from the custodians, systems and date range the lawyer names. Do not decide when the duty to preserve arose and do not name a custodian the lawyer has not listed.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Rule 37(e) does not itself impose the duty to preserve. It addresses loss after the duty exists.
- A state-court case does not automatically use Rule 37(e). Open that state's preservation rule.

## Sources

- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) (failure to preserve electronically stored information)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_37) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*