Executive Office Legal Hold Intake Workflow

executive office legal hold intake

Handle executive office legal hold intake by translating counsel's written scope into careful preservation actions without offering legal interpretation.

Send the notice to the right owner immediately

A legal hold notice should enter the company's counsel-led process, not an informal executive task list. Confirm receipt through the stated channel and identify the lawyer or legal operations owner directing the work. The assistant should not narrow, postpone, or reinterpret the notice.

If the scope or deadline is unclear, ask counsel in writing before taking actions that could alter information.

Identify executive office information locations

With counsel and technology owners, list relevant mailboxes, calendars, chats, shared drives, local files, mobile devices, paper records, delegated accounts, and third-party systems. Include temporary exports and assistant-maintained trackers. Describe systems factually without deciding whether material is legally relevant.

A complete location map helps qualified teams preserve information without collecting unrelated executive data by default.

Pause routine disposal where directed

Follow written instructions for records deletion, mailbox rules, device replacement, recycling, account closure, and document cleanup. Do not promise that a personal reminder or manual folder will preserve a dynamic system. Technology and records teams should confirm the preservation method.

Keep ordinary controls operating for material outside the hold unless counsel directs otherwise, because an uncontrolled freeze creates its own privacy and security risk.

Track custodians and acknowledgment

Record which executives, assistants, delegates, and former staff received the notice, when they acknowledged it, and who needs follow-up. Use counsel's approved wording and distribution list. Avoid discussing allegations or guessing why a person is included.

If a recipient is unavailable or has left the organization, alert the hold owner so access and preservation can be handled through the proper process.

Protect collection and transfer

When counsel requests material, use the designated collection team and secure transfer path. Keep source files intact and avoid renaming, editing, forwarding, or combining records for convenience. Record the request, collector, source system, date, and destination.

The assistant may help locate business context, but should not filter the collection based on a personal view of what matters.

Wait for an authorized release

Continue the hold until counsel issues written modification or release. A closed dispute, employee departure, or long period of silence does not automatically end preservation. When release arrives, coordinate with records, security, and system owners to restore ordinary retention rules.

Preserve the hold administration record required by counsel and remove temporary access created only for collection.

Common questions

Can the assistant decide which emails matter?

No. Follow counsel's scope and use the designated legal and technical review process.

Should normal deletion stop everywhere?

Pause only as directed and let counsel, records, and technology owners define the affected systems.

When may the hold be closed?

Only after the authorized legal owner provides written release or modification.

Source and service boundaries

Organizations can review our executive operations support, use the records handoff guide, or contact our team about governed executive support. Source: U.S. Department of Justice preservation guidance.