---
title: "Litigation hold notice (federal civil)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/us-litigation-hold-notice"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a5-us-litigation-hold-notice"
area_id: "A5"
kind: "notice"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A5-T1-R4", "A5-B6-5", "A5-B8-3"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Litigation hold notice (federal civil)

> Notice to a client's custodians to keep documents and electronically stored information once federal litigation is reasonably anticipated, with a counsel log of the steps taken.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/us-litigation-hold-notice  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

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

## Key facts

- Kind: Notice. A formal notice to serve or publish.
- Practice area: [Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution.md)
- Jurisdictions: United States
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the 4 authorities it cites, for United States.

## When to use it

Use when a commercial dispute is reasonably likely to become a case in a United States district court, or a case has just been filed or served. Do not use it as a court order, and do not send it to the opposing party.

## Used for these tasks

- [Review the discovery set and draft a production issues list](https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/review-the-discovery-set-and-draft-a-production-issues-list.md)
- [First-pass document review for relevance in discovery](https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/first-pass-document-review-for-relevance-in-discovery.md)
- [Summarise discovery for privilege review with technology-assisted review](https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/summarise-discovery-for-privilege-review-with-technology-assisted-review.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may turn the lawyer's scope notes into a custodian notice and a log. The lawyer decides when the duty arises, who is a custodian, and what is in scope.

**AI may:**

- Draft the notice from the lawyer's list of custodians, systems and date range
- Build a log with one line per custodian, the date the notice was sent, and whether an acknowledgement came back
- Compare the categories in the notice with the claims and defenses in the complaint or the demand

**AI must not:**

- Must not decide that litigation is reasonably anticipated, or set the legal scope of the hold
- Must not tell custodians to delete, alter or move material, including material that looks unhelpful
- Must not send the notice, contact custodians, or put the client's systems or personal data into a tool the firm has not approved

**The lawyer checks:**

- Trigger, custodians, systems and date range match the facts known today, and the notice says the scope may widen
- Routine deletion that would hit in-scope material is suspended, and the person who can suspend it has been told
- The notice and the log stay with counsel. They are not sent to the opposing party with the hold

## Authorities

- [Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e) (loss of ESI that should have been preserved; reasonable steps; curative measures and intent findings) and the 2015 advisory committee note on the same page](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_37)
- [Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f)(2) and 26(f)(3)(C) (parties discuss preservation, and the discovery plan states ESI preservation issues)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_26)
- [Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(3)(B)(iii) (scheduling order may provide for preservation of ESI)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_16)
- [Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) and 26(b)(3) (proportional scope; trial-preparation protection)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_26)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/us-litigation-hold-notice and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

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