A subpoena arriving at a business is not, by itself, an accusation. Companies receive them as witnesses, as custodians of relevant records, and as subjects. Knowing which you are changes everything — and you often cannot tell from the document.

What follows is general information about a process, not advice about any particular subpoena. The first call should be to counsel.

Immediately

Preserve everything, and say so in writing. The obligation to preserve attaches on receipt, and routine deletion is no longer routine once it does. A litigation hold notice should go out promptly and specifically: to the people likely to hold relevant material, naming the categories, and suspending automatic deletion in email, messaging platforms and device-retirement processes.

The single worst outcome available in the first week is destruction of records — including automated destruction nobody thought about. It converts a document-production problem into an obstruction problem, which is a different order of seriousness.

Do not begin gathering documents ad hoc. Well-intentioned collection by the people whose files are being collected creates gaps and, occasionally, the appearance of selection.

Identify what kind of subpoena it is. Grand jury, administrative agency, civil litigation and regulatory subpoenas differ in what they compel, what deadlines apply, and what the consequences of engagement are.

Note the deadline, and expect to negotiate it. Return dates are frequently extended by agreement where the recipient engages promptly and constructively. Silence is what removes that option.

In the first two weeks

Work out whether the company is a witness, a subject or a target. Counsel can often learn this. It determines nearly everything downstream, including whether individual employees need their own counsel.

Consider whether employees need separate representation. Company counsel represents the company. Where an individual’s interests may diverge, that distinction has to be explained clearly and early — including the fact that the company’s privilege belongs to the company and can be waived by it.

Scope the request. Subpoenas are often broader than what the issuer actually needs. Negotiating custodians, date ranges, and search terms is normal practice and can reduce the burden substantially without appearing evasive.

Preserve privilege deliberately. Set up the review so that privileged material is identified and logged rather than produced, and be careful about who is copied on internal communications from this point forward.

Things that reliably make it worse

  • Deleting anything, or letting an automated policy do it for you.
  • Discussing the subpoena widely inside the company.
  • Contacting other recipients or witnesses to compare notes — depending on context this can look like coordination.
  • Producing without a review, and producing privileged material as a result.
  • Ignoring the deadline and hoping.

Things that reliably help

  • A prompt, documented preservation hold.
  • One point of contact for the issuer.
  • A defensible, written collection and review process.
  • Early, professional engagement about scope.

The longer arc

Many subpoenas end with production and nothing further. Some become investigations. The company’s conduct in the first month — whether it preserved, whether its productions were complete, whether its representations held up — tends to shape which of those happens, and it is remembered.