What are legal holds?

Overview

When a matter requires preservation, place a legal hold from Data Center. While a hold is active, actions that would permanently remove protected materials can be blocked — including some account-level deletions — until the hold is released by an authorized user.

Why this feature exists

Preservation obligations are serious. Legal holds make the product’s behavior match that duty.

Step-by-step

1. 1

   Place a hold with a reason

   In My Data / Data Center, place a legal hold on the relevant case and record why.

2. 2

   Release when appropriate

   Only release the hold when preservation is no longer required — ideally with counsel’s guidance.

Best practices

• Document the reason clearly when placing a hold.
• Export packages before any planned release if you still need copies elsewhere.

Productivity tips

• Combine legal hold with milestone exports so preservation and portability both stay covered.

Common mistakes

• Releasing a hold early to “clean up” Trash.
• Assuming Trash recovery still applies the same way under a hold — check status first.

Frequently asked questions

Screenshots

Helpful links

• My Data
• Trust Center — privacy

Related articles

• How long are documents stored?

  Documents remain in your account until you delete them or a retention policy you configure takes effect.

• What is permanent deletion?

  Permanent deletion removes materials after the Trash recovery window ends — and cannot be undone.

• Can I restore deleted files?

  Yes — during the Trash recovery window. After that window, deletion becomes permanent.

• Can I export everything?

  Yes. Export builds downloadable packages of your case materials for backup or sharing with counsel.