Legal playbook · AI Employee: Lex

Subpoena Response

100% subpoenas responded to within statutory deadline

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The problem

A subpoena arrives — from law enforcement, opposing counsel, regulator, or civil litigant — with a fast deadline and specific data demands. Someone in the mailroom scans it, forwards to legal, who scrambles to determine scope, identify custodians, preserve data, coordinate collection, redact, and produce the response. Deadlines slip, over-production reveals unrelated data, under-production means motion-to-compel. The workflow that runs on "someone remembers" fails predictably under pressure.

At a glance
Trigger
Form
Approvals
Attorney sign-off before release
What it does
Writes to your systems
Systems
Ironclad · Legal KB
How it feels in production

An hour-by-hour walkthrough.

A subpoena arrives via certified mail: DOJ requesting records related to Company X between 2024-01 and 2025-12. Lex logs the intake within the hour, extracts the demand (data types, custodians named, timeframe, response deadline), notifies the GC, and starts the response workflow. Immediate actions: - Legal hold on all named custodians + related systems (via the legal-hold playbook) - Deadline calendared: 30 days from receipt with milestone alerts at 7 / 14 / 21 days - Scope analysis: what data types, which systems, expected volume - Privilege log preparation: attorney-client + work-product filters - Coordination with outside counsel if beyond in-house capacity Through the response window: - Data collection from named systems (email, chat, files, cloud services) via eDiscovery tools - Review for responsiveness against the subpoena's specific demands - Privilege review + redaction for privileged content - Chain-of-custody documentation for every produced record - Bates numbering + production formatting per subpoena requirements Delivery: production package with cover letter + privilege log + affidavit of completeness. Every action logged for legal defense of the response's adequacy.
How it works

Step by step.

  1. 01

    Intake + parse the subpoena

    Log intake, extract demand (data types, custodians, timeframe, deadline). GC notified within the hour. Log ID assigned.

    Legal case management · Email · Physical mail scan
  2. 02

    Immediate legal hold + custodian identification

    Legal hold on named custodians + adjacent systems. Custodian expansion via Context Graph (project membership, correspondence).

    Legal hold platform · Context Graph · HRIS
  3. 03

    Scope + coordinate outside counsel if needed

    Scope analysis: data types, volume, complexity. Escalate to outside counsel for high-stakes or specialized responses.

    eDiscovery estimation · Outside counsel registry
  4. 04

    Collect + review + redact

    eDiscovery collection from named systems. Responsiveness review, privilege review, redaction. Chain-of-custody at every step.

    eDiscovery (Relativity · Everlaw · Reveal) · Review workflow
  5. 05

    Produce + document

    Production package: cover letter, privilege log, affidavit of completeness, Bates-numbered records per format spec. Delivered before deadline.

    Production tools · Delivery mechanism (SFTP · secure portal · certified mail)
Systems and wiring

What you connect to make this run.

Legal case management (iManage · NetDocs · dedicated)

read+write

Case-level record of the subpoena + timeline + actions + delivery. Auditor + court-referenceable.

eDiscovery (Relativity · Everlaw · Reveal · Logikcull)

read+write

Data collection + review + redaction + production. Chain-of-custody enforced.

Legal hold platform

read+write

Immediate holds on named custodians. Coordination with the legal-hold playbook.

Outside counsel registry + engagement

read+write

Escalation for high-stakes responses. Coordination on strategy, review, filing.

What changes

Before and after, honestly.

% of subpoenas responded on time
Before
70-88%
After
99%+
Time from receipt to legal hold in place
Before
1-7 days
After
Under 2 hours
Over-production incidents (produced beyond scope)
Before
10-25%
After
Under 2%
Legal hours per subpoena response
Before
40-120 hours
After
15-45 hours
Related

Playbooks that pair with this one.

Legal

Legal Hold / Litigation Hold

First action in subpoena response is a legal hold.

Legal

eDiscovery Collection

Data collection follows the eDiscovery playbook once hold is in place.

Legal

Outside Counsel Engagement

Escalation path for high-stakes responses.

Frequently asked

Answers about this playbook.

What if the subpoena is defective (wrong jurisdiction, unclear scope)?

GC + outside counsel review for defects. Motion to quash or narrow may be appropriate. Lex tracks the challenge alongside the response deadline.

How does it handle Grand Jury or gag-ordered subpoenas?

Restricted-access flow. Only named parties can see the subpoena; regular escalation channels disabled. Confidentiality strictly enforced.

What about international subpoenas (Hague, MLAT)?

Cross-border request handling with jurisdictional review. Different response mechanisms per treaty; outside counsel involvement typical.

How does it handle NDA obligations vs. subpoena compliance?

Subpoena compels; NDA doesn't override. Notify affected NDA parties of the compelled production per NDA terms.

What about internal-employee subpoenas (custody, divorce, personal matters)?

Different scope; usually a formal request rather than corporate response. Routed to HR + legal for individual-employee support.

See it run on your data.

Free plan, no credit card. Connect the systems this playbook needs and run it against a past event first.

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