What to do if…
you receive a demand for documents that include private communications and you are unsure what is protected

What to do now

1. Identify exactly what you received.
   Look for whether it says subpoena, court order, warrant, summons, discovery request, agency demand, preservation letter, or informal request. Note the issuing court or agency, case name, case number, signature or issuing information, who served it, what it asks for, how it says to comply, and the deadline.

2. Verify the demand before producing anything.
   Use the court, agency, or official case information shown on the document to check that the case and demand appear real. Do not use only a phone number or link inside a suspicious email. If you already have a lawyer, send the demand to that lawyer first.

3. Preserve the material without changing it.
   Stop auto-delete settings for the relevant accounts if you can do so safely. Do not wipe phones, close accounts, edit messages, “clean up” folders, or remove embarrassing material. Keep devices and accounts in their current state as much as possible.

4. Work out whether the demand is aimed at you, your employer, or a service provider.
   If it was served on you personally, treat it as yours to respond to until counsel tells you otherwise. If it was sent to you at work or asks for company systems, promptly notify the approved legal, compliance, or HR contact and avoid broadcasting it more widely.

5. Make a private issue list, not a production dump.
   List the accounts, devices, date ranges, and types of communications involved. Separately flag communications with lawyers, documents made because of a dispute or investigation, medical information, minors’ information, intimate material, passwords, financial identifiers, and messages involving people who are not part of the dispute.

6. Ask a lawyer about objections, narrowing, privilege, and timing.
   In federal civil cases, Rule 45 generally allows written objections to a document subpoena before the earlier of the compliance time or 14 days after service, and a court can quash or modify subpoenas that seek privileged or protected material or create undue burden. Rule 26 can also matter for protective orders, work product, proportionality, and privilege claims. State, criminal, administrative, and agency demands can use different rules and deadlines.

7. Ask for a pause or narrowing only in writing.
   You can ask the requester or their lawyer to narrow the date range, accounts, search terms, categories, or production format, and to confirm any extension in writing. Do not assume that asking for an extension pauses the deadline unless it is confirmed by the requester, agreed by counsel, or ordered by the court.

8. Keep protected material out of casual emails.
   When seeking help, send the demand itself first. If a lawyer asks for sample material, use a secure method and provide only what they request. Do not paste long private message chains into emails to the requester.

9. Be careful with online service-provider issues.
   U.S. law can limit when providers disclose the contents of stored communications, and different rules may apply to message contents, subscriber records, government requests, and private-party subpoenas. Do not guess whether the request should go to you, the provider, or both; ask counsel before producing message contents.