About Sources & Attachments

In eDiscovery standard terminology there is a concept called Sources and Attachments. This is also known as the family of an email including its attachment(s).

What does this mean? An email with an attached file is considered a family. If you mark the attached file as relevant, you usually need to review or disclose the email it came with. When you search for relevant documents and include sources and attachments, the results will also show the related email. See the screenshots below for examples.

Example

This search for relevant documents returns 178 records.

When you run the same search with sources and attachments, as indicated by the paperclip icon being filled in in blue, the search returns 276 documents.

This is one example where an attachment is coded relevant, so its parent email is included in the result.

The .ppt file has been coded Relevant, as indicated by the Green icon. Its parent, the email titled 'Helsinki Report', has not been coded.

Best Practice for Document Families

• General Principle:Under Canadian disclosure rules, if any document within a family (e.g., an email and its attachments) is relevant and not privileged, the entire family should be produced. This ensures completeness and avoids misleading context.
  • Note: The same applies for Privilege. If one document is privileged, the entire family is generally withheld.

• Coding for Clarity: Each document should be coded according to its own relevance, even if it is produced because of another family member.

  • Example: If an email is not relevant but its attachment is relevant, the email must still be produced because of the attachment. However, the email should be coded as “Not Relevant” to accurately reflect its individual status.

• Why This Matters: This approach aligns with the Sedona Canada Principles, which emphasize transparency, proportionality, and cooperation in e-discovery. It helps maintain clarity during review and prevents confusion about why a document was disclosed.