Hi, Doug Kaminski here! I recently had the opportunity to host a webinar titled “Legal Holds or Legal Holes,” where we dove deep into the ever-evolving world of legal hold solutions. Let’s chat about some of the key takeaways and insights we explored together.

The Data Landscape Has Changed, and So Must We

• The New Normal of Data: Remember when data was mostly centralized? Those days are long gone. With the pandemic, we’ve seen data spread to the cloud and even onto personal devices. It’s a whole new ballgame now and our approach to preserving data subject to legal hold has to change, too.
• Mergers Shaking Things Up: The industry isn’t static either. Big players like Zapproved and Xterro haved joined forces and others are being acquired, which really shakes up our options and strategies in legal hold solutions. This also causes us to reassess our choices.

Legal Hold: It’s Not Just About Sending Notices Anymore

• Getting Down to Brass Tacks: Legal hold isn’t just about issuing notices…that’s the easy part. It’s about understanding your custodians, preserving vital information, staying on top of compliance, and meticulously documenting every step to ensure defensibility.
• The Preservation Puzzle: With a plethora of data sources like Slack and Zoom, preserving data is like solving a complex puzzle. It’s crucial to zero in on what’s truly relevant, not just collect everything in sight (or onsite).

Embracing Process Improvement and the AI Wave

• Raising the Bar with Legal Ops: Legal operations teams are giving traditional legal workflows a major facelift with process improvements. And guess what? AI is now a big part of this picture. Tools like Microsoft’s Copilot and Fabric are game changers, helping us predict and preserve data more efficiently. Consider these embedded AI tools when rethinking your overall preservation ecosystem.

The Art of Choosing the Right Legal Hold System

• The Big Question – What Do You Really Need? When picking a legal hold system, it’s essential to assess your needs. How much data are we talking about? How complex are your requirements? Do we need to integrate with HR and other systems? These questions are key.
• Preservation in the Modern Era: With most of our data living in the cloud, preserving in place is more important than ever. It’s about being smart with our resources and focusing on what matters.
• Choosing a Partner, Not Just a Provider: This part is crucial. You want a solution provider that truly collaborates with you, understands your culture, and has a proven track record of evolving with customer needs.

Wrapping Up: A Holistic Approach to Data

In conclusion, our webinar wasn’t just about legal holds; it was about seeing the bigger picture. It’s about leveraging our data to inform not just legal holds but our entire approach to information governance. It’s about being strategic, choosing the right partners, and always staying a step ahead.

Remember, in the realm of legal holds and data management, it’s not just about the tools we use; it’s about how we use them and the processes we build around them. Here’s to making our data work smarter for us!