How to organize chat evidence and documents before consulting a lawyer about a breach of contract

Start with information that helps tell the whole story

When there is a problem with delivery of work, payment, or an agreement that each side understands differently, many people already have evidence, but it is scattered across phones, email, and paper files. Organizing the information before you meet your adviser helps show how the matter began, what was agreed, and which facts still need to be checked.

This article is general guidance on preparing information. It does not determine who breached the contract or which document would win the case. If there is a notice letter, a court summons, or a deadline by which something must be done, tell your adviser from the start. You should not wait until your file is complete before getting in touch, because urgency has to be assessed on the actual facts of the matter.

Build a timeline that separates facts from opinions

Make a short table listing the date, the event, the people involved, and the file name of the evidence. Start from the negotiations and go through the agreement, payment, and delivery, up to any objections raised. If you cannot remember a date, write that it is unknown or give an approximate time frame. Do not fill in dates just to make the table look complete, because this may cause confusion when you explain things later.

Keep what you saw yourself, what the other party told you, and any assumptions separate from one another. For example, “Money transferred as shown on the transfer slip dated...” is information that can be linked to a document, whereas “The other party deliberately did not deliver the work” is a conclusion that needs supporting information. Write down separately the problem you want advice on and the outcome you would like, so that the lawyer can review the options based on the facts.

Collect the contract and any documents that changed the agreement

Keep every page of the contract, along with any annexes, quotations, purchase orders, and related amendment documents, including messages agreeing to extra work or a change to the delivery date. If there are several versions, note which one was signed, which are drafts, and through which channel you obtained each document. Having only the signature page may mean that the scope of work and the terms cannot be fully reviewed.

Put evidence of how the agreement was performed in a separate category, such as delivery notes, photos of the condition of the work, emails confirming receipt of the work, payment records, and messages reporting defects. Link these documents to the timeline, keeping both the information that supports you and any information that may expose limitations in your own position, so that your adviser can assess the matter from every angle.

Keep chat messages so their context and source are clear

For chat messages you can lawfully access, keep the messages before and after the key points, the name or account details of the other person as the app displays them, the dates and times, and any related attachments. If the app offers a way to export data, keep the exported set together with a note of when you exported it. Screenshots make things easier to read, but they should not become a reason to delete original messages or source files that can still be kept.

Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) explains that assessing the reliability of electronic data involves how it was created and stored, its completeness, any changes made to it, and identification of the sender. You should therefore not conclude that a single chat screenshot can confirm every claim. Do not edit messages, combine images to create a new meaning, or access someone else’s account to look for evidence. It is best to have a lawyer consider which method of gathering evidence suits the case.

Keep the originals separate from a working set

Keep the files you received or exported as your original set, then make copies for arranging pages, creating a table of contents, or marking points you need to ask about. If unrelated information has to be redacted in the set you pass on, do it on a copy and say what you have redacted, while still keeping the originals so they can be inspected if necessary.

Name the copies so they are easy to find, for example with the date, document type, and a sequence number. You do not need to rename the source files or edit their contents so that every one of them fits your own system. For paper documents, photograph or scan every page, making sure nothing is missing and everything is legible, and note where the physical originals are kept. If someone else holds a document, say who holds it instead of claiming that you have the original.

Send information through a channel agreed with your adviser

Before sending a large number of files, confirm the recipient and the channel directly with the law firm. Tell them the number of files and the subject matter so that they can check what they receive. Limit who can access any link, and avoid posting the other party’s documents in public to put pressure on them. Disclosing more information than necessary may create additional problems unrelated to resolving the original dispute.

A workable starting set consists of a one-page summary, a timeline, the complete contract, evidence of how the contract was performed, and a list of questions. On its website, B Law Firm lists services including consultation, contract drafting and review, and litigation. Preparing information in this way helps the consultation focus on the real issues, although the course of action still has to be considered on the basis of the documents and facts of each matter.

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References

• ETDA: Reliability and admissibility of electronic evidence (in Thai)
• B Law Firm services