Send the Legal Hold notice to employees likely to have
responsive materials. Unless the matter impacts the whole
company don't send the notice to everyone. The "shot
gun" approach to distribution can undermine the process
by overwhelming employees with so many notices that
when they need to take some action they fail to.
Spell out what's required of employees in plain English. For
example, "Do NOT destroy, revise, alter, hide (by encrypting
or otherwise), or move company records."
Be specific about which records need to be preserved—
records, documents, and drafts (paper or electronic) created
within a specific time period that are about a particular
product, customer, or business deal. Clarify the need to preserve
relevant documents normally scheduled for disposal
according to standard retention guidelines.
Do not include any privileged information or a lawyer's
analysis about the merits of the matter as it could undermine
the Attorney-Client Privilege.
Provide the responsible lawyer's contact information in the
notice so any questions can get addressed immediately.
Contact affected business unit leadership as they will likely
know who may have information that needs to be preserved
or know how to get it.
Communicate directly with key players responsible for
discoverable information on a consistent basis—a blanket
statement to all personnel may no longer be sufficient.
Retain evidence of having sent a clear message describing
legal obligations and employee responsibilities to show
good faith efforts on the part of the organization.
When the matter is concluded, send employees a Notice
of Termination of the Legal Hold and indicate that regular
record keeping rules once again apply. Remember that
information may be subject to more than one Legal Hold so
verify if other pending matters require the information to
still be preserved. Above all else, never rush to destroy, no
matter what.
