Disputes and legal holds

The decisions that determine how a dispute goes are made in the first week, usually by people who do not know a dispute has started.

This structures the operational response. Procedural obligations and their deadlines vary by jurisdiction and forum — get counsel engaged early, and let them drive strategy.

Preservation attaches earlier than most people expect

The obligation to preserve begins when litigation is reasonably anticipated — which can be a demand letter, a threat made in a meeting, a regulator's inquiry, or an internal complaint serious enough that a claim is foreseeable. It does not wait for a filing.

Destruction after that point is treated far more seriously than the underlying dispute. Routine automatic deletion continuing through a hold is the common version, and "it was our normal policy" is not the defense people assume.

Issue the hold in writing, and make it reach the systems