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The matter is the unit of work, so it comes first. One folder per matter, and inside it a folder for each production, named by who produced it and the volume, like Opposing-Production-02-Vol-03.

Keep incoming and outgoing productions apart. What you received and what you sent are different sets, and mixing them is how a team ends up unsure which version was actually served.

Lead with the Bates range, since that is how everyone cites a page. The first and last number, then the document type, gives names that sort in order and match what is stamped on the page.

Add the document’s own date when it has one, such as an email date, rather than the day it was scanned. That makes it easy to build a timeline later.

Check the Bates ranges end to end. If one volume ends at 000463 and the next starts at 000472, a range is missing from what you received, and that is worth raising with the other side.

Watch for pages that were scanned crooked, cut off or too faint to read. Text cannot be found on a page that cannot be read, so flag those early rather than discovering them when you need the document.

Many teams run optical character recognition (OCR) on each volume in a PDF editor or scanner software, then split by hand using page numbers from the production letter or index. It works, but it is slow, and the naming is only as consistent as whoever did it that day.

Larger matters often move to a review platform with its own import process. For the many smaller matters that never justify that, you can tell Filex your matter layout and Bates-first naming, let it read each volume and propose names and folders, and check the splits yourself.

It helps you name and file what you received. It does not stamp Bates numbers, review for privilege, code documents, or decide what is responsive. It also does not replace a review platform for a large, contested production. Those calls stay with your team.

It uses Bates numbers where they are legible on the page and flags the ones it cannot read, so faint, skewed or handwritten pages need a look from you. Older matters are a separate cleanup. As a habit, reconcile each volume against the production letter, and note any clawback or privilege-log deadline on your own calendar.