Guide
PD57AD Explained For Litigation Lawyers
23 pages · 32 min read
This guide, 'PD 57AD Explained For Litigation Lawyers', is prepared by the Computer Forensics Lab e-Discovery team.
- Disclosure and PD 57AD
§ Guide
PD57AD Explained For Litigation Lawyers
This guide, 'PD 57AD Explained For Litigation Lawyers', is prepared by the Computer Forensics Lab e-Discovery team.
Ref · E-D · 2026 · §LIBClass · ConfidentialJuris · England & WalesStatus · Active
Guide · 23 pages · 32 min read · Published 2026-08-29
This guide, 'PD 57AD Explained For Litigation Lawyers', is prepared by the Computer Forensics Lab e-Discovery team. It covers the purpose, duties, workflow, cooperation, and technology aspects of Practice Direction 57AD. It is essential for UK litigators, in-house counsel, and investigators. The guide details what PD 57AD is for, where it applies, and the duties of parties and their lawyers. It explains known adverse documents, the workflow stage by stage, Initial Disclosure, Issues for Disclosure and the DRD, and the five Models. It also addresses cooperation, technological implications, Less Complex Claims, common mistakes, and technical limitations. It includes a checklist, red flags, and FAQs.
Share
Read this guide on your phone, browse guides by topic or go back to the full PDF library.
§ Credit and source
Published by Computer Forensics Lab on 2026-08-29. Original material of the practice, free to read, cite and download. The authority behind this subject is Practice Direction 57AD, Disclosure in the Business and Property Courts, which you should read alongside this guide. See every guide's author and source.
§ Full text of PD57AD Explained For Litigation Lawyers
Download the PDFPrefer a PDF that matches this page exactly? Download the current text as a PDF, generated from the wording shown here, including any later corrections.
Page 1
PRACTICEDIRECTION57AD · A GUIDE FOR UK LAWYERS PD 57AD Explained for Litigation Lawyers Purpose, Duties, Workflow, Cooperation and Technology COMPUTER FORENSICS LAB DISCOVERY. UK
§ ABOUT THE AUTHOR PREPARED BY COMPUTER FORENSICS LAB E-DISCOVERY TEAM FULL CHAIN-OF-CUSTODY DOCUMENTATION
§ CONTENTS In this guide 01 Executive summary 02 What PD 57AD is for: the problem and the culture change 03 Where it applies, and where it does not 04 The duties: parties and their lawyers 05 Known adverse documents 06 The workflow, stage by stage 07 Initial Disclosure 08 Issues for Disclosure and the DRD 09 The five Models 10 Cooperation: what the regime actually requires 11 The technological implications 12 Less Complex Claims and other variants 13 Worked example: a matter through the timeline 14 Common mistakes and technical limitations 15 Questions to ask · Suggested wording 16 Checklist and red flags · When to involve a digital forensic expert 17 Frequently asked questions 18 Glossary · References · Disclaimer · How a specialist laboratory can assist
§ 01 · ORIENTATION Executive summary THE HEADLINE ANSWER: WHATPD57ADIS
§ 02 · FIRST PRINCIPLES What PD 57AD is for: the problem and the culture change
§ 03 · TERRITORY Where it applies, and where it does not
Page 2
§ 04 · OBLIGATIONS The duties: parties and their lawyers PART Y DUTIES WHAT THEY MEAN IN PRACTICE
§ 05 · THEMORALCORE Known adverse documents
§ 06 · THE MACHINE The workflow, stage by stage PRESERVE INITIAL SIGNAL ISSUES DATA & CMC: SEARCH, CERTIFICATE CONTINUING (CONTEMPLATION) DISCLOSURE EXTENDED & METHOD ORDER S REVIEW, DUTIES & (WITH DISCLOSURE MODEL S (DRD S. PRODUCE VARIATION PLEADINGS) (DRD S. 2) STAGE AND TIMING WHAT HAPPENS
§ 07 · STAGE ON E Initial Disclosure
§ 08 · THECENTRALDOCUMENT Issues for Disclosure and the DRD
§ 09 · THEMENU The five Models MODEL WHAT IT ORDERS WHEN IT FITS
Page 3
§ 10 · ACROSS THE TABLE Cooperation: what the regime actually requires
§ 11 · UNDERTHEBONNET The technological implications
§ 12 · VARIANTS Less Complex Claims and other variants
§ 13 · IN THE WILD Worked example: a matter through the timeline WEEKSMINUS8TO0 · CONTEMPLATIONTOISSUE DAYS1TO42 · PLEADINGSCLOSETODRAFTDRD TOTHECMCANDBEYOND
§ 14 · WHEREITGOESWRONG Common mistakes and technical limitations Common mistakes Technical limitations
§ 15 · INTERROGATORIES & DRAFTING AIDS Questions to ask · Suggested wording Ask your client Ask your opponent Ask an e Discovery / forensic provider ISSUE ) SUGGESTED WORDING · CLIENT LETTER PA R AG RAPHONKNOWNA DV ERSE DOCUMENTS
Page 4
§ 16 · QUICK CONTROL Checklist and red flags · When to involve a digital forensic expert The PD 57AD checklist Red flags When to involve a digital forensic expert
§ 17 · COMMON QUESTIONS Frequently asked questions Does PD 57AD apply to my case? Is Model D the default? What exactly is a known adverse document? What if the other side will not cooperate? Are we required to use technology-assisted review? What happens if we get it wrong?
§ 18 · REFERENCE Glossary DRD Sources and authoritative references DISCLAIMER
§ HOW A SPECIALIST LABORATORY CAN ASSIST Working with Computer Forensics Lab Speak to a forensic examiner, not a salesperson. INSTRUCTTHELAB NEWENQUIRIESEMAILE - DISCOVERY
§ Common questions
Frequently asked questions
- Does PD 57AD apply to my case?
- If the proceedings are in the Business and Property Courts, presumptively yes, subject to the excluded and modified categories in paragraph 1 (own-regime schemes and lists, Part 8, and others); check the current text against your court and list. Outside the B&PCs, CPR 31 and PD 31B govern instead, and the practical disciplines transfer wholesale even though the forms differ.
- Is Model D the default?
- No. There is no default Model, no entitlement to Extended Disclosure at all, and the court must be persuaded per issue that the Model sought is reasonable and proportionate. A DRD proposing Model D across the board reads as the old culture in new clothes, and courts say so.
- What exactly is a known adverse document?
- A document the party actually knows about (corporate knowledge running through those with accountability for the events, including departed staff) which contradicts or materially damages its case or supports its opponent's on the issues. It must be disclosed what ever Model applies and what ever any search would have found, and the duty continues to the end of proceedings. It is the regime's most personal duty and the one to educate clients on first.
- What if the other side will not cooperate?
- Perform your side visibly (serve, propose, exchange data, offer structure), record everything, and escalate cleanly: chase with deadlines, use a Disclosure Guidance Hearing for methodology steers, and put crisp, evidenced disputes before the CMC with the correspondence exhibited. The regime's sanctions run through costs and case management, and they are applied against parties whose files show friction as strategy.
- Are we required to use technology-assisted review?
- Not in terms, but the DRD requires you to state a position on analytics and TAR, courts have endorsed the technology since Pyrrho, and on a large Model D exercise a refusal will need justifying against the cost of the linear alternative. Decide on measured numbers and record the decision either way; that is the compliant posture which ever answer you reach.
- What happens if we get it wrong?
- Paragraph 17 provides for correcting failures (further searches, corrected certificates) and paragraph 18 for varying orders as the case develops; done promptly and candidly, correction is routine case management. What attracts sanction is the other pattern: breaches discovered rather than disclosed, cooperation performed rather than done, certificates describing exercises that were not performed. The protective habit is the series' recurring one: write the record as you go, so correction is a document away. cflab. u k · e-disc ove r y. u k ©2026 Computer Forensics Lab Ltd ·cflab.uk ·e-discovery.uk ·info@cflab.uk ·+44 (0)20 7164 6915 Page 20 of 23
§ Related documents
Guide
Technical Preparation For A Disclosure Case Management Conference
23 pages · 27 min read
This guide, 'Technical Preparation For A Disclosure Case Management Conference', is for UK lawyers involved in e-discovery.
- Disclosure and PD 57AD
Guide
Known Adverse Documents In The Digital Age
20 pages · 26 min read
This guide, 'Known Adverse Documents In The Digital Age', is prepared by Computer Forensics Lab e-discovery team for UK lawyers.
- Disclosure and PD 57AD
Instruct the practice
Bring us in early.
Defensibility is built, not retrofitted.
Whether you are responding to a regulator, preparing for disclosure, or scoping an internal investigation, start the chain of custody with a short, confidential conversation.