Resources on Defensible Historical Document Collections

Articles and practical guidance for legal teams working with historical records, archival collections, provenance, coding protocols, QA review, Indigenous litigation, fiduciary litigation, and production readiness.

Professional Resource Series
The Defensible Collection
A six-part series by Laura A. Kirbyson on the elements that make a historical document collection defensible: research planning, provenance, coding protocols, quality assurance, evidence evaluation, and archival preparation.
01

Defensible Document Collections

Four elements of a defensible document collection: research planning, files databases, reliable coding, and explained gaps.

Litigation Records Lifecycle Management
02

Defensible Document Provenance: File Databases

Why file databases, source tracking, and provenance records matter in historical document collections for litigation.

Database Design, Coding Protocols & QA Review
03

Document Coding: The Difference Between Data and Evidence

How coding protocols turn document collections into reliable, searchable, litigation-ready evidence systems.

Database Design, Coding Protocols & QA Review
04

Quality Control Auditing

Why quality control auditing matters for coding consistency, database reliability, and production readiness.

Database Design, Coding Protocols & QA Review
05

The Weight of the Past: Evaluating Historical Records in Litigation

How source type, provenance, oral history, and record survival affect the weight of historical records in litigation.

Historical Research & Records Analysis
06

Five Questions Your Litigation Team Should Ask Before Touching a Historical Archive

Questions litigation teams should answer before archival research, including repositories, scope, digitization, access, and record readability.

Litigation Records Lifecycle Management
Free Download

Pre-Litigation Records Audit

A practical records-readiness resource for litigation teams working with historical or archival materials.

Download PDF

Working with a historical records collection that needs to stand up to scrutiny?

Book a consultation to discuss the file, the records, and the next defensible step.