What is an ESI letter?

A litigation hold is a written directive advising custodians of certain documents and electronically-stored information (“ESI”) to preserve potentially relevant evidence in anticipation of future litigation.

Who can send a preservation letter?

The preservation letter should be sent to the defendant instead of the insurance company or other folks working on the case. However, you can copy the letter to them as well.

What is a preservation demand letter?

A sample document preservation letter (also known as a preservation demand or preservation notice) asking another party to preserve relevant evidence, including hard copy documents and electronically stored information (ESI). This Standard Document has integrated notes with important explanations and drafting tips.

Under what circumstances are you required to preserve electronic documents?

When Does the Duty to Preserve Arise? In general, the duty to preserve electronically stored information (or any other potentially relevant evidence) attaches when a party reasonably foresees that the information may be relevant to future litigation.

What is a document retention notice?

A document retention policy (also known as a records and information management policy, recordkeeping policy, or a records maintenance policy) establishes and describes how a company expects its employees to manage company data from creation through destruction.

Are document retention policies privileged?

District Court Holds that Document Retention and Destruction Policies Are Privileged under Court’s Default Discovery Standard. The Default Discovery Standard reads: “Activities undertaken in compliance with the duty to preserve information are protected from disclosure and discovery under Fed. R. Civ.

What is duty to preserve?

The Duty To Preserve Party Documents Actual and anticipated parties to a litigation have a common-law duty to preserve evidence when the party “has notice that the evidence is relevant to litigation or when [the] party should have known that the evidence may be relevant to future litigation.” ComLab v.

What triggers a legal hold?

What Triggers a Litigation Hold? Oftentimes, the trigger for a litigation hold is a “litigation hold letter” or notice, also called a “stop destruction” or “preservation” letter, which is a written document that informs a party directly of an impending legal action.

What is the purpose of retention schedule?

A retention schedule is a policy document that identifies and describes an organization’s records, usually at the series level, and provides instructions for the disposition of the records throughout their life cycle.

What is electronic stored information (ESI)?

In today’s world of fast-paced, electronic communication, nearly every corporation in the U.S. maintains electronically stored information (commonly referred to as “ESI”). In general, ESI includes emails, documents, spreadsheets, and text messages.

What happens if you don’t preserve your ESI?

There have been sanctions for failure to preserve ESI. It can result in spoliation penalties. It can also result in “doomsday sanctions.” If there is a failure to protect the electronically stored data, it can be devastating to the client. A careless, intentional, or reckless deletion matters not.

What is an electronic preservation letter?

electronically-stored information (“ESI”) to preserve potentially relevant evidence in anticipation of future litigation. Also called “preservation letters” or “stop destruction requests,” these communications basically advise of the possibility of future litigation and identify relevant documents and ESI which should be preserved.

What should your counsel write back to your document retention letter?

For example, if the letter requires preservation of “all electronic data,” your counsel could write back and explain your company’s ordinary document retention policy, and offer to preserve additional data from certain employees.