Document Preservation 101

When a dispute is possible, preserving records is not optional. Here’s a plain-English playbook to keep evidence intact and avoid accidental spoliation.

Hands labeling an evidence folder with an external drive and a stack of documents on a desk
Pause auto-deletes, gather sources, and keep a clean copy of originals.

Why preservation matters

Courts, agencies, and counterparties expect relevant information to be preserved once litigation is reasonably anticipated. Deleting emails, wiping devices, or letting auto-purge run can lead to sanctions and lost leverage. The good news: a few quick steps avoid most pitfalls.

The first 48 hours: do these five things

  1. Freeze auto-deletes. Turn off mailbox retention rules, chat auto-purge, and cloud trash emptying. On phones, stop “optimize storage” features that replace originals.
  2. Inventory the sources. Email accounts, shared drives, phones/tablets, messaging apps, third-party systems (HR, payroll, ticketing, ecommerce), and any paper files.
  3. Collect a working set. Export PDFs of key emails/threads; download copies of policies, contracts, and logs. Keep file names intelligible and date-stamped.
  4. Record the context. Create a simple spreadsheet with who/what/where for each source and whether access is shared with someone else.
  5. Secure a read-only archive. Store a clean copy (e.g., on an external drive or locked cloud folder). Do not edit originals—work from duplicates.

What to preserve (typical categories)

  • Communications: email, SMS/iMessage, Slack/Teams, internal ticket comments.
  • Documents & media: contracts, policies, PDFs, spreadsheets, designs, photos, audio/video, transcripts.
  • System data: logs, audit trails, access records, purchase history, billing exports.
  • Web captures: screenshots or WARC/HTML exports when online content changes frequently.
  • Personal notes: your timeline and contemporaneous notes—dated and factual.

Do’s and don’ts

  • Do keep originals untouched; don’t forward a message thread to yourself and delete the source.
  • Do export in standard formats (PDF, CSV, EML/MSG); don’t rely on screenshots alone.
  • Do capture metadata when feasible; don’t re-save files in a way that overwrites dates.
  • Do use a naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD_subject_from_to.pdf.

Working with third parties

If a vendor or landlord controls data, send a preservation request promptly. Ask that routine deletion be suspended for relevant accounts and that you be notified before any system migrations.

Chain of custody: keeping proof clean

  • Store archived sets in read-only containers; limit who can write to them.
  • Keep a log of what was collected, from where, and when (a simple spreadsheet works).
  • Avoid altering originals—annotations belong in a copy or separate memo.

How we help

We issue targeted preservation letters, coordinate with vendors, and structure collections so evidence is admissible and easy to use. If you’re unsure whether something is relevant, save it and ask—we’ll decide together.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.