What is a 'legal hold' and when should you apply it?

• A. A directive to preserve relevant information due to anticipated or ongoing litigation; apply promptly.
• B. A directive to delete data due to risk.
• C. An informal note to review files.
• D. A tool for anonymizing data.

Answer: (B)

A legal hold is a formal directive from counsel to preserve information that could be relevant to a pending or anticipated legal matter. It stops routine deletion, destruction, or alteration of data across all systems so that potential evidence remains intact. You should apply it promptly once there is a reasonable anticipation of litigation or an ongoing investigation, or when a matter is likely to proceed, to ensure nothing that could be evidence is discarded. The hold typically covers emails, documents, backups, databases, cloud data, and other relevant materials, and involves clear instructions about who must preserve information and how to handle custodians, with steps like suspending auto-delete policies and monitoring compliance.

Deleting data due to risk undermines preservation and can lead to sanctions or adverse inferences. An informal note to review files isn’t binding or durable enough to guarantee preservation. An anonymizing tool changes the content and is not about safeguarding evidence for litigation.