When legal action becomes possible, document preservation moves from good housekeeping to a legal obligation, and getting it wrong can be more damaging than the underlying claim. Destroying or losing relevant material, even inadvertently, can trigger adverse inferences, sanctions and reputational harm. This report explains what to preserve and how, in your chosen jurisdiction and industry: the categories of documents and data that matter, the moment preservation duties are triggered, the practical steps to suspend routine deletion, and the handling that protects privilege. It covers the scenarios in which poor preservation undermines an otherwise strong case, indicative ranges for the consequences of spoliation, and the controls that make preservation reliable rather than ad hoc. It also sets out when to instruct litigation counsel and e-disclosure specialists to manage the process.
Reference material for informed readers, not advice.
