Legal Hold FAQ

Question 1

What is a legal hold?

Accepted Answer

A legal hold (also called a litigation hold or preservation hold) is a directive from an organization to its employees and other custodians to preserve all information that may be relevant to pending or reasonably anticipated litigation, investigation, or audit. Overrides retention: A hold suspends normal deletion and retention schedules for the covered information. Covers all formats: Email, chat, documents, databases, mobile devices, and paper records can all fall within scope.

Question 2

When should a legal hold be issued?

Accepted Answer

A legal hold should be issued as soon as litigation is reasonably anticipated, which can be well before a lawsuit is filed, such as when a demand letter arrives, a credible threat is made, or a government inquiry begins. Trigger events: Demand letters, preservation letters, regulatory subpoenas, internal complaints, and incident reports are common triggers. Document the decision: Record when the duty to preserve arose and why, so the timing can be defended later.

Question 3

What should a legal hold notice include?

Accepted Answer

A legal hold notice should identify the matter in plain language, describe the types of information and date range to preserve, explain that normal deletion must stop, and tell the recipient how to acknowledge the hold and who to contact with questions. Scope: Subject matter, relevant time period, and the categories and locations of data. Instructions: Clear do-not-delete instructions that cover personal devices and messaging apps where relevant. Acknowledgment: A request that the custodian confirm they have read, understood, and will comply with the hold.

Question 4

What is the difference between a legal hold and a litigation hold?

Accepted Answer

There is no practical difference: legal hold, litigation hold, preservation hold, and preservation notice are used interchangeably to describe the obligation to preserve potentially relevant information. Broader term: Legal hold is often preferred because the duty also applies to investigations and audits, not only lawsuits.

Question 5

What happens if an organization fails to implement a legal hold?

Accepted Answer

Failing to preserve relevant information can lead to spoliation findings and court-imposed remedies, including monetary sanctions, adverse-inference jury instructions, or in serious cases dismissal or default judgment. FRCP 37(e): In U.S. federal courts, Rule 37(e) governs remedies when electronically stored information that should have been preserved is lost. Defensibility: A documented process of notices, acknowledgments, and reminders is the strongest evidence of reasonable preservation.

Question 6

Who is a custodian in a legal hold?

Accepted Answer

A custodian is any person who has possession, custody, or control of information that may be relevant to the matter, such as employees involved in the events, their managers and assistants, and the IT staff who administer the relevant systems. Think broadly: Former employees, contractors, and third parties who hold data on your behalf may also need to be addressed. Interviews help: Custodian interviews uncover additional people and data sources that should be added to the hold.

Question 7

How long does a legal hold last, and how is it released?

Accepted Answer

A legal hold stays in effect until the matter and any related appeals or reasonably anticipated follow-on matters are fully resolved, at which point counsel should formally release it and notify every custodian that normal retention can resume. Check for overlap: Before releasing, confirm the same data is not subject to another active hold. Send a release notice: A written release closes the loop and prevents indefinite over-retention.

Question 8

Is Doculogix Legal Hold Manager really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Doculogix Legal Hold Manager is free to sign up for and use, so legal teams can issue and track legal holds without purchasing a separate legal hold platform. No credit card: Create an account with your name, email address, and a password. Web-based: Runs in the browser at legalhold.doculogix.com with nothing to install. Grows with you: When you need full eDiscovery workflow automation, Doculogix EWM picks up where legal hold leaves off.

Question 9

What does Legal Hold Manager do?

Accepted Answer

Legal Hold Manager helps legal teams issue, track, and manage legal holds end to end by sending hold notices, collecting custodian acknowledgments, and running hold recipient interviews in one place. Hold notices: Send preservation notices to every custodian on a matter from a single screen. Acknowledgments: See who has acknowledged a hold and who still needs to respond. Recipient interviews: Ask custodians where relevant data lives and keep their answers with the hold record.

Question 10

Who is Legal Hold Manager built for?

Accepted Answer

Legal Hold Manager is built for corporate legal departments, law firms, and litigation support providers that need a defensible, documented way to preserve information without an enterprise software budget. Administrators: Anyone who signs up is set up as a Legal Hold Administrator who can create holds and issue notices. Custodians: Recipients sign up with the same email address that received the notice so their account connects to their holds.

Question 11

How do custodians respond to a legal hold notice?

Accepted Answer

Custodians respond by creating a Legal Hold Manager account with the same email address that received the notice, which automatically connects them to their holds so they can acknowledge and answer interview questions. Same email, same holds: Matching on email address links each recipient to every hold issued to them. Documented response: Acknowledgments and interview answers are recorded against the hold for later reference.

Legal hold questions, answered

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Legal Hold Resources

FundamentalsWhat is a legal hold?

FundamentalsWhen should a legal hold be issued?

Hold NoticesWhat should a legal hold notice include?

FundamentalsWhat is the difference between a legal hold and a litigation hold?

RiskWhat happens if an organization fails to implement a legal hold?

CustodiansWho is a custodian in a legal hold?

ReleasesHow long does a legal hold last, and how is it released?

PricingIs Doculogix Legal Hold Manager really free?

Product OverviewWhat does Legal Hold Manager do?

AudienceWho is Legal Hold Manager built for?

CustodiansHow do custodians respond to a legal hold notice?

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Legal Hold Resources