Guide
A privilege log justifies every document you withhold or redact. Build it from your production data rather than from memory, and tie every entry to a Bates range so the log and the production reconcile page for page.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Log no. | Sequential entry number for citation during meet and confer. |
| Bates range | SMITH-000412 to SMITH-000414, or a withheld placeholder range. |
| Date | Date of the document or the top email in the thread. |
| Type | Email, memorandum, draft agreement, attachment. |
| Author / from | Full name and role. Mark attorneys clearly. |
| Recipients / cc / bcc | Every recipient. An unexplained third party invites a waiver argument. |
| Subject description | Enough to assess the claim, not enough to disclose it. |
| Privilege asserted | Attorney-client, work product, common interest, or a combination. |
| Disposition | Withheld in full or produced redacted. |
014 | SMITH-000412 to SMITH-000414 | 2025-03-11 | Email thread | J. Reyes (GC, Acme) | To: M. Patel (outside counsel, Doe LLP); cc: L. Chen (Deputy GC, Acme) | Email seeking and reflecting legal advice regarding the scope of the March 2025 supplier indemnity dispute | Attorney-client; work product | Withheld in full
The description names the topic and the legal purpose, identifies each participant's role so the privileged relationship is visible on the face of the entry, and never repeats the advice.
Document-by-document logging of a large collection is often disproportionate. Common agreements to negotiate at the Rule 26(f) conference are a cutoff date after which counsel communications need not be logged, categorical entries for defined groups, logging email threads at the thread level rather than per message, and metadata-only logs generated from the review platform. Put the agreement in the ESI protocol so the format is not litigated later.
A privilege log is a document that lists every item withheld or redacted on a claim of privilege, describing each one in enough detail for the other side and the court to assess the claim without revealing the privileged content itself.
Common fields are a log entry number, the Bates range or control number, document date, document type, author, recipients and copyees, a general subject description, the privilege asserted, and whether the document was withheld in full or produced in redacted form.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(A) requires a party withholding information on a privilege claim to describe the nature of the withheld material without disclosing it. Most state rules have an equivalent, and many courts have local rules or standing orders on format.
Redacted documents are produced with Bates numbers, so the log cites the exact Bates range for each redaction. Documents withheld in full are typically given a placeholder or slip-sheet Bates range so the production sequence has no unexplained gap.
A categorical log groups similar documents into one entry, for example all post-complaint communications between the client and outside counsel about the litigation. Courts increasingly allow it by agreement because document-by-document logging can be disproportionate.
Many parties agree in an ESI protocol or Rule 26(f) conference not to log communications with counsel created after the complaint date. Get that agreement in writing before you rely on it.
Courts can order a more detailed log, review documents in camera, or in serious cases find privilege waived. Vague descriptions such as legal advice with no context are the most common reason a log gets challenged.
Stamp your production in the browser and download a CSV index mapping every file to its Bates range. Nothing is uploaded.
