I often receive documents via email from other lawyers.  Because of that, I’ve seen a variety of different naming conventions for files.  Some make sense, others appear to be haphazard.  I think I have a good naming convention, so I thought I’d share it. 

Let’s say that on February 3rd, I receive a pdf file of a motion for summary judgment from XYZ Corp, and the response is due on March 3rd.  I would name the file as follows:

02-03-2011 – XYZ Corp Motion for Summary Judgment – Due 03-03-2011.pdf

If I authored a response on March 1st, it would be named as follows:

03-01-2011 – Response to XYZ Corp 02-03-2011 MSJ.

If I served the document on March 2nd, it would be renamed to

03-01-2011 – Response to XYZ Corp 02-03-2011 MSJ – Served 03-02-2011.

If I had exhibits to the response, they would be named like this:

03-01-2011 – Exhibit A to Response to XYZ Corp 02-03-2011 MSJ.

I like my system for several reasons.  First, by putting the date as the very first thing in the file name, every folder will automatically be in chronological order in Windows Explorer.  (By default, Windows sorts in alphabetical/numerical order.)

Second, by putting the date a document is received and its due date in any files I receive from opposing counsel, I quickly know the most crucial things I need to know about any specific document.  By putting the date I serve any documents in the file names of documents I create, I can easily tell if I’ve served something.

When I serve something, I take a signed copy of it, scan it in, and save it in the same folder.  That way I have the Word document that I created it in, and an actual copy of what was really sent out.  I name the scanned PDF the same thing as the original file name, except the extension ends in PDF instead of .doc.

If you’ve got an idea for a better naming convention, let me know.