Want to know nine steps for building a defensible legal hold process? Cimplifi discusses that in their latest post on legal holds!

In their post titled (wait for it!) Know When to Hold Em: Building a Defensible Legal Hold Process (available here), Cimplifi discusses that In today’s data-driven world, designing a defensible legal hold process is no longer a simple administrative task – it’s a strategic capability. Organizations operate across a patchwork of enterprise platforms, collaboration tools, mobile devices, structured databases, and even generative AI systems. When litigation or an investigation arises, legal teams must act quickly and confidently to preserve relevant ESI across this complex landscape.

In the post, Cimplifi outlines nine key steps to building a defensible legal hold process. Here’s the first step:

Step 1: Establish Clear Triggers and Governance

A defensible legal hold process begins long before the first notice is issued. Organizations must define what events trigger preservation obligations and who is responsible for making that determination. Litigation isn’t the only trigger – regulatory inquiries, internal investigations, whistleblower complaints, and significant incidents can all give rise to the duty to preserve.

Clear governance ensures that potential triggers are identified early and escalated appropriately. This requires coordination between legal, compliance, HR, and business stakeholders. Without this structure, organizations risk delays in issuing holds, which is one of the most common and consequential preservation failures.

Equally important is defining ownership of the legal hold process itself. Who drafts notices? Who manages custodian lists? Who coordinates with IT? Assigning clear roles and responsibilities avoids confusion and ensures accountability.

So, what are the other eight steps? Find out here, it’s only one click! You can’t defend not clicking! 😉

So, what do you think? How is your organization managing legal holds? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image created using Microsoft Designer, using the term “professionally dressed robots at a poker table playing poker with some holding cards”.

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Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.