What does the Generate UK Litigation Hold Notice (PD57AD-aligned) skill do?

Assemble the matter facts and custodian list into a structured litigation hold (preservation) notice directing custodians and IT to preserve relevant documents and suspend auto-deletion, aligned with the document-preservation duties under CPR PD57AD (Business & Property Courts) and PD31A, with acknowledgment tracking and a worked example.

How do I run the Generate UK Litigation Hold Notice (PD57AD-aligned) skill?

Copy the skill and paste it into your own Claude or ChatGPT, then provide your source data. FinchContext skills run inside your own AI assistant, so your financial data never leaves your control.

Which region does the Generate UK Litigation Hold Notice (PD57AD-aligned) skill cover?

United Kingdom. It targets the local tax authority / e-invoicing format described on this page.

Generate UK Litigation Hold Notice (PD57AD-aligned)

Skill: Assemble matter facts and custodians into a UK litigation hold notice

Region: United Kingdom Category: Legal / eDiscovery Does: Takes the matter facts and a custodian list and assembles a structured litigation hold (preservation) notice that directs custodians and IT to preserve relevant documents, aligned with the document-preservation duties under CPR PD57AD (Business & Property Courts) and PD31A. Spec: CPR PD57AD (Disclosure) / PD31A — duty to preserve documents; structured hold notice (custodian, trigger, in-scope data, IT instructions, acknowledgment)

A hold notice suspends routine deletion and instructs preservation once litigation is contemplated. Section names below follow standard hold-notice practice and the PD57AD preservation duty, not a prescribed form.

When this applies

Litigation is contemplated or commenced in the Business & Property Courts (PD57AD) or other courts (PD31A duty to preserve).
A party/legal team must instruct named custodians and IT to preserve potentially relevant documents and suspend auto-deletion.
Re-issued/refreshed periodically; lifted only by a formal release notice.

Structure (matter + custodians → hold notice)

1. Header: matter name/ref, date issued, issued by (solicitor/in-house)
2. Trigger / background: nature of dispute, key dates, why preservation arises
3. Scope: in-scope subject matter, relevant date range, parties/topics
4. In-scope data types & sources:
   email, documents, messaging (Teams/Slack/WhatsApp), shared drives,
   cloud, mobile devices, databases, backups, physical documents
5. Custodian instructions: do not delete/alter; preserve in place
6. IT instructions: suspend auto-delete/retention purge, journaling,
   hold backups, image leavers' devices
7. Acknowledgment: each custodian confirms receipt and compliance
8. Contact / questions; reminder of consequences (sanctions)

Data rules

Trigger date — preservation duty arises when litigation is reasonably contemplated; the notice records the trigger and date.
Scope — subject matter and date range defined to be reasonable and proportionate (CPR 31.7 / PD57AD principles).
Custodians — each named individual/role listed; acknowledgments tracked.
IT actions — explicit instruction to suspend routine destruction (retention policies, mailbox cleanup, backup rotation) for in-scope data.
Audit trail — issue/acknowledgment/refresh/release dates retained to evidence compliance and defend against spoliation.

Worked example (outline)

Matter: Acme Ltd v Beta plc (BL-2026-000123), issued 2026-02-10 by Head of Legal
Trigger: letter before claim received 2026-02-05
Scope: supply contract dispute; date range 01/01/2023–present
Custodians: 6 (Sales Director, 2 account managers, finance, 2 IT)
Data: Exchange mailboxes, Teams chats, shared drive folder /Acme,
      2 laptops, ERP order records
IT: suspend 90-day mailbox purge + backup rotation for custodians
Acknowledgments: tracked; refresh due 2026-08-10

Issued to all custodians and IT with acknowledgment tracking.

Validation checklist

Trigger and issue date recorded
Scope (subject matter + date range) defined and proportionate
All custodians named with acknowledgment tracking
Data types/sources itemised (incl. messaging, mobile, backups)
Explicit IT instructions to suspend auto-deletion
Consequences of non-compliance stated
Refresh/release process and audit trail in place

Last updated: 2026-06-04 — confirm the current CPR PD57AD / PD31A preservation duties and practice against current authority (justice.gov.uk, CPR) guidance before use.