Legal Hold Memo

The letter describes the scope of the dispute based on the facts of the case. You do not necessarily have to keep all digital documents or pieces of paper in your possession, but you must ensure that documents that can be used as relevant evidence are not destroyed or disposed of. Even if your phone or hard drive fails, keep it until a lawyer tells you it`s okay to get rid of it. If you have any doubts about what to keep, talk to a lawyer. This memorandum is based on federal law and does not contain any possible nuances of state law. Be sure to check applicable state and local laws for different or additional requirements. Protect yourself from these risks by taking the letter seriously and getting organized. Get your home and electronics in order for the next divorce case. Find out what potential evidence you have and, if necessary, how you should pass it on to the other party. A lawyer can help you consult with IT staff and others to protect the electronic data involved in the detention order.

Keep all relevant information in a safe place. Once a party reasonably anticipates litigation, it must suspend its current records retention and destruction policies and place a process lock to ensure the retention of relevant records. See Wagstaffe Prac. Guide: Fed. Civ. Proc. Before trial, § 33-IV[C][1]; Silvestri v. GMC, 271 F.3d 583, 591 (4th cir. 2001); Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 220 F.R.D. 212, 218 (N.Y.D.R. 2003).

The obligation to retain evidence is not limited to paper documents or the company`s own IT systems and central servers. Rather, this obligation applies to all documents that are under the control or custody of all major players in the party and that are likely to contain information relevant to the potential dispute, as well as to any location (personal devices, personal computers, etc.) where such electronic documents can be found. See Marshall v. DentFirst, P.C., 313 F.R.D. 691, 697 (ND Ga. 2016); see also Wagstaffe Prac. Guide: Fed. Civ. Proc. Before trial, § 33-IV[C][10]. Consider responding to the waiting letter. Your lawyer can help you write a letter outlining the steps you are taking to preserve the evidence and offering to take further action if the other party can prove that there is justification for these actions.

There may be room to negotiate the terms of the letter. A family law attorney can help you navigate a divorce dispute in California. A “litigation holding letter” is a legal document that requires a natural or legal person to retain all documents, data and information that may relate to an ongoing lawsuit in which the person or company is involved. Also referred to as a garnishment order, the purpose of this letter is to keep intact all relevant evidence involved in the case. If you receive a dispute letter during the divorce proceedings, you will have certain legal responsibilities. Here`s what you need to do. A letter of withholding of litigation during a divorce will likely come right after the first filing of the petition to dissolve the marriage in California. If your spouse has hired a lawyer, the lawyer will issue this letter almost immediately. The letter may be titled “Request for Cessation of Destruction” or “Request for Retention”.

In any case, he will inform you of the anticipation of future disputes and give you written instructions to follow. These instructions require that you retain all data, documents and other electronic records that could potentially be used as evidence in the upcoming case. This information may include: The purpose of this Memorandum is to inform you of potential disputes related to [brief description, for example, “our 2017 contractual negotiations with XYZ Company”] (the “Dispute”) and your legal obligation to retain documents related to the Dispute. We are required by law to retain all documents related to the dispute and you have been identified as a person who may have relevant documents and/or data. If you delete, delete or destroy something that the other party could have used as evidence in your divorce case, the courts may consider it “destruction of evidence.” This may expose you to certain legal liabilities and penalties. California courts may then prohibit you from presenting certain evidence or exclude you from decision-making processes. The courts may even charge you for the restoration of the evidence you destroyed. You are requested to retain documents and information relating to the dispute in accordance with this memorandum. These obligations will remain in effect until you receive subsequent written notice that this retention of disputes has been updated, modified or published. Failure to retain documents and information related to the Dispute may expose [name of Client] (the “Company”) to sanctions and/or legal liability. If you have any questions or concerns about the obligation to retain documents and information, please contact [name of in-house counsel]. Our legal obligation to retain information extends to any document or data under the Company`s control.

If you work with third party service providers or other companies that may have documents or data covered by this memorandum, please immediately inform [name of in-house counsel] so that we can decide whether or not to inform these third parties of our record retention obligations. I, _____on_________________ further confirm that I have read the memorandum and understand my legal obligations as described in the memorandum. [Name of Chief IT Officer] will lead these records retention efforts. Please direct any questions on these topics to [he] Each recipient of this memorandum must declare in writing that they have received it and understand their obligations under this memorandum. To this end, please sign the attached confirmation, date it and send it to [name of external or internal legal counsel] at [email address of external or internal legal counsel]. IT staff who receive this memorandum should, until further notice, write to: [relevant and important employees, representatives and management] Re: Notice of Stay for Litigation With respect to [brief description of the dispute or name of opponent] Federal law requires the retention of all documents and data related to the dispute from all sources. Documents and data should be interpreted broadly and are not limited to paper documents. This also includes audio recordings, videotapes, emails, instant messages, word processing documents, spreadsheets, databases, calendars, telephone logs, Internet usage files and any other electronic information created, received and/or stored by the Company on its computer systems. Sources include all printed and electronic files, computer hard drives, removable media (such as CDs and DVDs), laptops, iPhones or other smartphones, backup tapes, backup media, and anywhere printed or electronic data is stored or could be stored. Note that this list is not exhaustive and is provided for illustrative purposes only.

If you use a personal computer or laptop to perform work on behalf of the company, you must also keep all relevant information from that computer. If you use a personal email account to send work emails, you should keep those emails. Typically, such an IDE may be located in or above one or more of the following: The documents and data you must retain and retain include documents that mention or deal with any of the following topics: If you have any questions or concerns regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact [name of external or internal legal counsel] at [external or internal email address and telephone number]. For more information on document retention policies, see The Company will retain all ESTs related to the litigation and suspend the deletion, overwriting or other possible destruction of relevant electronic documents and data. Automatic data destruction logs must also be suspended, and failure to do so could result in legal penalties. These obligations apply to all relevant ISEs, regardless of when they were established. We remain committed to maintaining all newly created ISAs until further notice. For more information about a party`s record retention obligations, see There may be other categories of documents relevant to the dispute. If you are unsure of the suitability of a document or class of records, keep it and contact [name of in-house counsel] for more information.

Form provided by Jim Wagstaffe and the Wagstaffe Group.