An export prepared for an adjudicator, an arbitration, or a court reads differently to one prepared for a meeting. The legal reader cares about provenance, integrity, and exactly what the export does and does not show. A confident export anticipates those questions.
Three artefacts in the package
- The export itself, in a format the recipient accepts and can verify.
- A short cover note describing what is shown, what is not, and the source.
- A chain-of-custody summary listing every step from capture to export.
The cover note is the part most teams under-invest in. A clear cover note saves the reviewer hours and prevents the misreading that produces follow-up requests. It is not legal advice; it is a careful description of the artefact.
Integrity and metadata
A legal reader will check that the file metadata is consistent with the cover note and with the chain of custody. Where possible, the export should be a derivative of an original that has not moved. The cover note should reference the original, the derivative, and the relationship between them.
Field notes are part of the public RDI reference. For shorter definitions, use the glossary. For full reference articles, see the knowledge base.