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Privilege log from discovery records

Build a draft privilege log from reviewed discovery records, with decision gaps for litigation teams handling disclosure.

5 min read

Nothing here is legal advice. A draft is a starting point for a qualified person, not a substitute for one.

These prompts help you turn reviewed discovery records into a traceable draft privilege log. They are for litigation teams handling document review and disclosure, where a supervising lawyer must make the final decisions.

Nothing here is legal advice. The output is a working draft for a qualified person, not a substitute for their judgment.

Start with the review data

Use Normalise reviewed records before asking for a log. Paste the reviewer export, coding notes or record summaries. The aim is not a polished table. It is a reliable source layer where each value can be traced back to a record.

Check that your source includes, where available:

  • document or record ID;
  • Bates start and end values;
  • document date and type;
  • author, recipients and copied parties;
  • family and attachment identifiers;
  • reviewer privilege designation and stated basis;
  • the reviewer note or source reference.

Do not ask the model to fill participant roles from names alone. A name may belong to a lawyer, employee, client representative or third party, but the record must establish that fact. Where the export does not say, keep the gap visible.

Key point

Keep legal labels separate from facts

The log can repeat a reviewer label, but the supporting facts and unresolved questions must remain separate fields.

Build entries, not conclusions

Next, use Create draft privilege log entries. It produces a row for each potentially withheld document or family, rather than deciding that the claim succeeds. This distinction matters when review coding is incomplete or inconsistent.

The prompt uses reviewer_claimed_basis rather than a model-generated legal label. If the reviewer did not provide a basis, the row should say UNRESOLVED. The factual-basis field should then identify what is actually present, such as a listed sender, recipient or note indicating a request for legal input.

Descriptions need care. A useful log description identifies the document without reproducing advice or the substance of the communication. Compare the draft description against the source record. If it adds purpose, legal character or content not in the record, send it back for correction.

Watch out

Do not treat an email family as one document by default

An attachment may have different participants, content and treatment from its parent email.

Check families before you circulate

Use Review document families where the collection contains emails with attachments, embedded documents, duplicates or broken family links. Run it before treating a parent email and its attachments as a single log entry.

A family review should identify what the data proves, not what the team assumes. For example, a listed parent_id supports a relationship. Similar subject lines alone may support only an uncertainty. Keep missing attachments and unclear duplicates in the decision queue.

Then run Find log conflicts and omissions against both the draft log and the normalised source records. This is the useful final comparison because it catches records that were coded for potential privilege but never reached the log, and log rows that no longer have a traceable source.

If you see this Treat it as What to do
A claimed basis but no reviewer note or supporting metadata An unsupported draft field Ask for the source coding or put a precise question in the lawyer queue
A parent marked for review with unreviewed attachments An incomplete family Identify each attachment and request its record-level review
Two records with the same Bates range but different participants A source conflict Preserve both values and ask the review team to confirm the correct record
A description that states advice or strategy A disclosure risk in the draft Replace it with a neutral document-characteristics description

Tell whether the output is wrong

A clean-looking table can still be unsafe. Test every row by selecting its source_reference and checking the source record. You should be able to answer: where did this date come from, who supplied this basis, and what evidence supports this family relationship?

The output needs further work if it:

  • changes a date, name, Bates range or document type without identifying the source;
  • converts an uncertain reviewer note into a definite legal conclusion;
  • treats missing information as negative information, such as assuming no copied parties because none were listed;
  • applies a designation to an attachment without attachment-level support;
  • uses broad descriptions that disclose more than necessary;
  • omits a question where the record is contradictory or incomplete.

Check

Every log row should be auditable

You should be able to trace each material field to a record, reviewer note or explicit lawyer decision.

Prepare the decision queue

Use Prepare the lawyer decision queue after the audit. It turns scattered gaps into questions a supervising lawyer can answer, and factual requests the review team can complete. Keep the requests narrow. Ask for the recipient role for REC-1042, not a general explanation of the entire collection.

This queue also separates corrections that can be made from supplied data from points that need legal judgment. That makes it less likely that an administrative fix is delayed, or that a legal decision is buried in a spreadsheet.

If file handling, available fields or output behaviour differs in the model you are using, check the current xAI documentation.

When the prompts do not work

Stop and reduce the input if the output merges records, loses identifiers or invents participant roles. Paste a smaller batch, preferably one custodian, family or review tranche at a time. Keep the original export alongside each generated table.

Stop

Do not file or serve a generated log without review

A qualified lawyer must check the factual record, the asserted basis, the description and the final treatment.

Where the source data is too thin to support a draft entry, do not force a result. Record UNRESOLVED, preserve the source reference, and send the exact missing fact or decision to the responsible lawyer or review team.

Copy-ready prompts

5 prompts. Open one to read it, or take the whole pack.

1Normalise reviewed recordsUse this first when reviewer notes, exports or spreadsheets use inconsistent fields.
You are preparing structured source data for a draft privilege log. This is document administration, not legal advice. Do not decide whether privilege applies.

Read the reviewed discovery records below. Return one JSON object per record in a JSON array. Use exactly these fields:
- record_id
- bates_start
- bates_end
- document_date
- document_type
- author
- recipients
- copied_parties
- subject_or_title
- family_id
- parent_id
- attachment_ids
- reviewer_privilege_designation
- reviewer_claimed_basis
- reviewer_notes
- source_reference
- missing_fields
- ambiguity_notes

Rules:
1. Copy facts only from the supplied records. Do not infer a person’s role, legal capacity, relationship or purpose.
2. Preserve names, dates and identifiers as given. If a field is absent, use null.
3. Put every absent field that matters for a log entry in missing_fields.
4. Put conflicting values, unclear speaker identities and unclear family relationships in ambiguity_notes.
5. If the same record appears more than once, retain both entries and state the conflict in ambiguity_notes.
6. Do not add a privilege basis where the reviewer has not supplied one.

Reviewed discovery records:
[paste reviewed discovery export, reviewer notes or record summaries here]
2Create draft privilege log entriesUse this after you have normalised the records and need a lawyer-reviewable log table.
Create a draft privilege log from the normalised discovery records below. This is not legal advice. A qualified lawyer must decide any claimed basis and approve every entry.

Return a Markdown table with one row per potentially withheld document or document family. Use exactly these columns:
| log_id | bates_range | document_date | document_type | author | recipients | copied_parties | neutral_description | reviewer_claimed_basis | factual_basis_from_record | family_treatment | decision_required | missing_information | source_reference |

Instructions:
1. Include a record only if reviewer_privilege_designation, reviewer_claimed_basis or reviewer_notes indicates potential privilege, work product, legal advice, litigation purpose, or a request for legal input.
2. In reviewer_claimed_basis, reproduce the reviewer’s stated label. If none exists, write UNRESOLVED. Do not select a legal basis yourself.
3. Write neutral_description from the supplied metadata and notes. Do not reveal the substance of legal advice or privileged communications.
4. In factual_basis_from_record, state only the recorded facts that may support the reviewer’s label, such as author, recipient, stated purpose or reviewer annotation. If there are no such facts, write NOT STATED.
5. Use family_treatment to identify whether the entry is a parent, attachment, duplicate, or incomplete family. Do not assume that a parent’s treatment applies to attachments.
6. Put a clear lawyer question in decision_required whenever the designation, participants, purpose, date, family relationship or scope is unclear.
7. List missing dates, recipients, roles, attachments and source gaps in missing_information.
8. After the table, add a section called Excluded records listing record_id and the factual reason each record was not included.

Normalised records:
[paste JSON array of normalised records here]
3Review document familiesUse this where emails, attachments and duplicates may need separate treatment.
Review the document families below for a draft privilege log. This is not legal advice. Do not state that any document is privileged or not privileged.

Return a Markdown table with exactly these columns:
| family_id | record_id | relationship | available_metadata | possible_log_treatment | risk_or_gap | lawyer_decision_needed |

Apply these rules:
1. Treat every attachment as a separate record unless the supplied data explicitly says it is unavailable or non-responsive.
2. Identify parent-child links only where family_id, parent_id, attachment_ids, file names or supplied notes support the link.
3. Mark duplicate or near-duplicate records separately. State the source evidence for the duplicate finding.
4. In possible_log_treatment, use one of: separate entry, consider grouping, duplicate review, incomplete family, or unresolved.
5. Do not carry a reviewer designation from an email to an attachment without an explicit record-level designation or stated factual basis.
6. Where a family is incomplete, identify the missing record or metadata needed.
7. Make lawyer_decision_needed a precise question, not a general warning.

Document family data:
[paste parent, attachment and duplicate records here]
4Find log conflicts and omissionsUse this before circulation to find contradictions between the draft log and the review data.
Audit the draft privilege log against the reviewed discovery records below. This is a quality-control exercise, not legal advice. Do not resolve legal questions.

Return two Markdown tables.

First table heading: Conflicts and omissions
Use these columns:
| issue_id | log_id_or_record_id | issue_type | evidence_from_source | effect_on_draft_log | action_for_lawyer_or_review_team |

Second table heading: Records needing a decision
Use these columns:
| record_id | bates_range | current_reviewer_designation | information_available | exact_decision_needed |

Check specifically for:
- log entries with no source record;
- source records marked for potential privilege but absent from the draft log;
- conflicting author, recipient, date, Bates range or document type values;
- an asserted basis with no supporting reviewer note or factual metadata;
- descriptions that disclose substantive advice rather than document characteristics;
- unclear document families, attachments and duplicates;
- missing source references;
- records that combine multiple documents or inconsistent Bates ranges.

For every finding, quote the relevant supplied field value. If evidence is absent, say NOT PRESENT IN SUPPLIED DATA. Do not fill gaps from general knowledge.

Draft privilege log:
[paste draft log here]

Reviewed discovery records:
[paste source records or normalised records here]
5Prepare the lawyer decision queueUse this when the team needs a short, ordered list of points for the supervising lawyer.
Turn the unresolved privilege-log issues below into a lawyer decision queue. This is not legal advice and does not decide privilege. It prepares factual questions for a qualified lawyer.

Return:
1. A Markdown table with exactly these columns:
| priority | issue_id | record_id_or_log_id | decision_question | facts_available | facts_missing | proposed_owner | source_reference |
2. A section called Information requests, with numbered requests that can be sent to the review team or document custodian. Each request must name the record ID and the exact missing fact.
3. A section called Ready for log update, listing only issues that can be corrected from supplied factual data without a legal decision.

Rules:
- Use priority values High, Medium or Low. Base priority on whether the gap prevents a complete, accurate or traceable draft entry. Do not prioritise by guessing legal outcome.
- Write decision_question so it can be answered by a lawyer, for example whether the recorded participants and purpose support the reviewer’s proposed treatment.
- Assign proposed_owner only where the material identifies one. Otherwise write UNASSIGNED.
- Do not recommend withholding, production or redaction.
- Do not invent facts, roles, dates or communication purposes.

Unresolved issues and draft log:
[paste audit output, log rows and relevant source records here]

Last checked against xAI’s own pages on 2026-08-21. Grok changes quickly; anything version-specific should be confirmed upstream before you rely on it.

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