Legal holds and Slack integration features are only available for Subscription customers.
Creating Legal Holds
Click on the "Create new" button (located at the top left of the page)
Select "Create a new Legal Hold."
Step 1: Name your hold
By default, Logikcull will create a Project to store a Legal Hold. The Project will take on the name of your hold but the project name can be edited after it's created.
Projects are required for legal holds because legal holds are fully integrated with our Discovery product.
If you have an existing project that you'd like to add you hold to, you can select it from the "Select a project" drop-down.
If you're creating a legal hold from a Project page, you will not see an option to select a project.
If you wish to utilize or connect to Logikcull's GVault Integration to preserve data, check to Preserve Data.
If you wish to include a Survey that Custodians will be automatically directed to (and required to complete) a survey or questionnaire, check to Include a Survey.
Notes: You may input text notes (not visible to Custodians) in this field. This can consist of anything you wish to denote internally (e.g., lead counsel names assigned to a case). This information can be exported to a searchable report field for future records' purposes, if desired.
Step 2: Create Message
"Start from a template" allows you to start from a blank message or from an existing message template. More information on how to add/edit/delete a Legal Hold template here.
Message Subject: this line will appears as the email Subject line for an emailed legal hold notice, and/or the header of the Slack inbox message, as applicable. This will also be the text used for the variable text field labeled "Notice Email Subject" in the next screen.
Sender's Name: you can update the name that displays as the email sender. The default is the name of the user creating the hold. Note that only the display name will update, emails are sent from “notifications@logikcull.com."
Email From (Premium Legal Hold subscribers only): select a verified email as a sender. More info on setting up Custom Sender Email addresses here.
Reply to Email: allows you to designate the recipient of a reply if a custodian replies to the legal hold email. The default is the email address of the user creating the hold.
Tip: If you have set up an internal designated inbox on your end specifically to field reply emails from custodians put on hold, you may use that email address as the Reply To Email to consolidate all replies relevant to the legal hold here.
CC Recipients: CC recipients will receive a copy of the hold message but will not be added as custodians.
Notice Acceptance Button: Enter the text to appear on the button for custodians to click to confirm their acceptance. Characters are restricted to letters and numbers (i.e., no slashes or punctuation).
Hold Message: This is the legal hold notice message sent to custodians and any recipients included as CC Recipients. If you selected one of the pre-set templates in the previous screen, you may edit the message body here by replacing any bold/bracketed information with the applicable details.
💡Editing Options for Legal Hold Notice Messages
Insert variable text fields (indicated by fields enclosed by double-brackets)
[ [List of Custodians] ]
[ [Notice Email Subject] ]
[ [Legal Hold Created Date] ]
Include an attachment (e.g., instructions, FAQs, etc.) by clicking on the paperclip icon
If using a template provided by Logikcull, replace any bold text enclosed in [single-brackets] with applicable details
Reminder message: This is an optional message that will precede the original legal hold notice if you select to "Resend" the legal hold in Step 4.
Release message: This is the message that custodians will receive when you release your legal hold. In the last screen of Step 2, you can edit and preview the subject line and message body for the Release Message.
Step 3: Add Custodians
Add custodians: You can copy and paste a list of email addressed by clicking on the
+ Add custodians from...button. You can include a comma, followed by the custodian's first and last name after the email address to associate the full name with the custodian. This information will then be available to export into a Hold Report.If you'd like to utilize Logikcull's GVault integration to automatically pull in your organization's GVault contacts, see this section.
If you'd like to learn how you can leverage Logikcull's Slack integration to automatically pull in your organization's Slack-connected custodians, click here.
Available custodians: Logikcull stores the email addresses of custodians to whom you've previously sent legal holds. You can search select these under "Available custodians."
Selected custodians: custodians that will be added to the legal hold.
Silent custodians: the toggle next to each selected custodian allows you to set the custodian as "Silent." These custodians will be tracked as part of your legal hold but will not receive any emails.
If you have the Slack integration set up and would like to know how to send a Legal Hold through Slack, see guide here.
Account-Level Custodians
When you add a new recipient to a Legal Hold, a new custodian will be created at the account level automatically. You'll need to include both a name and email address for your custodian in order to access the custodian across the account.
Preserve Data (Premium Legal Hold subscribers only)
Preserve data from Google services: Gmail, Google Drive, Google Hangouts, Google Voice.
Select an existing Google Vault matter or create a new one.
Set Preservation start and end dates (optional)
Select services to preserve
Step 4: Review & Send
Delivery: the default is to deliver immediately, but you have the option to choose a date and time for delivery.
Reminders
Non-acceptance: sent to custodians that have not acknowledged their legal hold email (they haven't clicked on the button at the bottom of the email).
Resend email: the legal hold email is resent to all custodians at the specified frequency (the "Reminder message" is what precedes these emails).
Test Message: You can send a test message to yourself to check the content of your hold notice.
Review the summary step to confirm your selections, set your delivery time and date, then click "Create Legal Hold" to send your Legal Hold.
Download a Report of All Holds / All Custodians
Administrators/Senders of a Legal Hold have access to hold reports.
Click "Download Hold Report" to generate an Excel report listing all active, paused, and released holds and information such as: hold name, created by, created date, hold status, reminder frequency, custodian count, confirmed count, pending count, failed count, released count, and notes.
Click "Download Custodians Report" to generate an Excel report listing custodians issued with legal holds, project information, active vs. inactive states, delivery dates, and confirmation status.
Release/Delete your hold
To release a Legal Hold for an individual custodian, navigate to "My Legal Holds" from the left pane, click the Legal Hold project folder to see a list of cards for each custodian. Click the three-dot kebab in the corner of the custodian card and select "Delete Custodian". If you want the Custodian to receive the Release Message, check the applicable box. Click "Delete" to release the individual Custodian from the hold.
To release or delete a Legal Hold for all custodians included in the hold, navigate to "My Legal Holds" from the left pane and click the three-dot kebab in the corner of the legal hold card for the hold intended for release or deletion. Select from the options.
After you select "Release Hold", you'll see a prompt that gives you the option not to send a release email to all custodians. If the box is not selected, all custodians will receive a release email with the subject line and message body text set in Step 4 of the "Create a Legal Hold" process. If you have not modified either of these fields previously, all custodians will receive a default release email with our standard message.
What happens after I release my Legal Hold?
All custodians will receive the Release Message, unless selected otherwise.
The Legal Hold status will change to "Released".
All custodians will show as "Released".
A "Released" hold cannot be changed to an "Active" hold.
You have access to view and edit notes associated with your hold and hold custodians.
You can continue to generate reports on your Released holds until they are deleted.
Setting up Custom Sender Email Addresses for your Legal Holds
Increase trust, and open rates, for your Legal Hold notices by using custom sender email addresses.
ℹ️ This feature is available to Account Administrators and Account Owners.
If you have a premium Legal Hold account, you can quickly and easily set up your own custom email address to send Legal Hold notices. This address will appear as the sender when notice recipients see the message in their email inbox.
Creating the Custom Sender Email Address
💡 Tip: To future-proof your legal hold email deliverability, we recommend using an email alias (e.g., legal@yourcompany.com) as opposed to a specific user. That way, if the person responsible for managing Legal Holds changes in your org, you will not need to update the sender email address for existing holds.
From your Account, click on Account Settings > Preferences.
Scroll down to Custom Sender Email Addresses.
Enter the Sender Name. This will be the name that appears next to the smtp email address.
Enter the Sender Email Address.
Click "Add Custom Sender Email Address" button. An email will be delivered to you for verification of your request.
Verifying the Custom Sender Email Address
Check the inbox for the email address used in the Custom Sender field to find a verification request from notifications@logikcull.com and follow the instructions to verify the custom email.
Using the Custom Sender Email Address in a Legal Hold
Following the link in the verification email (shown above) will take you directly back to your Logikcull account. Your custom email address should now be available from the drop-down menu in the "Email From" section in Step 2 of the Legal Hold builder. You can also save the Custom Sender Email Address as part of a Legal Hold template for future legal holds.
Removing Custom Sender Email Addresses from your Account
If you need to remove a Custom Sender Email Address from your project, simply return to Account > Preferences and click the three-dots kabob on the right side of your custom email address to delete. You will be prompted to choose an email address to replace the deleted address.
Notes on Custom Sender Email Addresses
Custom Email Addresses are not account-specific, meaning any custom email address can be added to several different accounts.
An address only needs to be verified once in any account to be verified everywhere.
If a verified address is added to another account, it should show up as verified immediately and no verification email will be sent out.
If an unverified address is added to another account, a new verification email will be sent.
Setting up the Google Vault Legal Hold integration
This integration streamlines your GVault hold creation workflow when you send legal hold notices.
ℹ️ This feature is only available for Premium Legal Hold subscription plans.
Logikcull’s Google Vault integration with Legal Holds eliminates the additional steps involved in creating holds in Google Vault when you send out legal hold notices.
Permissions needed to use the Google Vault integration
Logikcull: Account admin
Google Vault: Manage Matters and Manage Holds. More information on Vault permissions can be reviewed here.
Using the Google Vault integration in Logikcull
Click on Create a new Legal Hold
After you select your custodians in Step 3, you’ll see a Preserve Data step.
On the Preserve Data step, toggle the Google Vault option at the top right of the window.
If it’s your first time using the Google Vault integration you’ll be asked to log into the Google account you want to connect to. Once connected, you’ll be asked to grant Logikcull access to your Google Vault account. Make sure you check all three boxes before you continue.
Select or create a Google Vault Matter. If you already have a Google Vault Matter for your legal holds, you can select an existing Matter; otherwise, enter a Matter name and Logikcull will create a new Matter in Google Vault for you.
Dates. You have the option to select a preservation start and end date.
Services. Select the Google Workspace services you want to preserve.
What happens in Google Vault?
If you did not select an existing Google Vault Matter, Logikcull will create a new Matter in Vault.
Logikcull will create a legal hold in the Vault Matter for each service selected. Logikcull created legal holds will be named “Logikcull: [Project name] - [service]”
You can open the “Data” section of a custodian to see which services were preserved, and/or which services, if any, failed to preserve (which may happen if a custodian is not in the data source or if a hold with the same name exists in the matter).
What else do I need to know?
Changes made in Google Vault will not be reflected in Logikcull. If you need to add a custodian or release a legal hold, you should make these changes in Logikcull and Logikcull will send updates to Google Vault.
Releasing or deleting your Logikcull Legal Hold will delete your legal holds in Google Vault. Note that Logikcull will not delete the Google Vault matter.
Adding a Survey to Your Legal Hold
Surveys and questionnaires often play a huge part in legal holds to save time for senders who typically have to field questions on instructing people on how to preserve data.
To include a Survey with your Legal Hold, just select the "Include a Survey" checkbox when creating a new Legal Hold. Continue to build your Legal Hold by selecting "Next."
When you arrive at Step 4 of Legal Hold creation, you will be presented with the Survey builder.
Adding Survey questions
The Survey will have one blank question on the form by default. Fill in the first question and choose an Answer type, then select "Add another question" to continue building your Survey.
Questions can be re-ordered by dragging them.
Answer Types
The following answer types can be used for your Survey questions:
Yes/No
Date
Date/Time
Number
Multiple Choice
Paragraph
Short Answer
Sending the Survey
When Custodians accept a Legal Hold that includes a Survey, they will automatically be re-directed to the Survey after clicking the confirmation button included in the notice. Custodians will need to complete and submit the Survey to be confirm the legal hold notice.
Create and Save a Survey/Questionnaire Template
You can create a Survey Template to re-use across all your Legal Holds! Here's how:
Navigate over to "My Accounts" by clicking on the house icon in the left pane, and select "Preferences" from the options at the top.
Scroll down until you get to "Survey Templates". Click "Create a new survey template" and complete!
Reviewing/Accessing Survey Results
Completed Survey answers can be accessed from the Legal Hold management page. Select the Legal Hold, then click Download > Download Survey CSV. A report will be downloaded to your computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I access Legal Holds in Logikcull?
Only Account Owners and Account Admins can access, view, and edit Legal Holds. You can access your legal holds and create new holds by clicking on the "My Legal Holds" icon in the navigation bar on the left of your screen.
ℹ️ The Holds section of the app is not visible to non-account admins.
How do I create a legal hold?
You can create a hold from the My Legal Holds page (for Premium Legal Hold subscribers only) and the Projects page, under the Holds tab.
If all my custodians are "silent" custodians, will carbon-copied recipients receive a copy of the hold?
No. If all custodians are "silent" or hard-bounce, the hold will not be sent.
Will my custodians see all hold recipients?
No. Each custodian will only see that the hold notification was sent to them individually.
Can I release a single custodian from a Legal Hold?
While we do not have an individual release option per custodian, you can choose to Delete a custodian from your legal hold, which will notify the deleted custodian that they have been removed from the Legal Hold. However, the deleted custodian will no longer appear on the Legal Hold within the project.
How do I add/edit/delete a Legal Hold template?
You can create a Legal hold template from the "Add New" drop-down on the Legal Holds page.
You can also add, edit, and delete Legal Hold templates by navigating to My Accounts > Preferences > Legal Hold Templates section. The Legal Holds Templates section will be at the bottom of the Preferences tab page.
How do I edit or delete a Legal Hold template?
Edit: locate the template you want to edit and click on the menu on the right. Select "Edit template" to load the template. All options available during template creation (see above) can be edited.
Delete: locate the template you want to edit and click on the menu on the right. Click "Delete template" and confirm deletion. Deletion is permanent but any Legal Holds sent using the template will not be affected.
How do I add an attachment to a Hold message?
To add an attachment to the Hold Message, click the paperclip icon on the far right side of the toolbar.
Select a file from your local computer to attach to your Hold Message.
The attachment will appear on the bottom of the Hold Message with a "Pending" icon. The hold will remain in a pending state while our system runs a virus scan on the document.
You can proceed to next steps while attachments are being scanned, but will be unable to send the notice until this step is complete.
You can add up to 5 separate attachments to a legal hold, totaling up to 7 MB.
Accepted file extensions are
csv, doc, docx, pdf, txt, xls, xlsx.Attachments cannot be downloaded from the Hold Message form, but you can send yourself a notice preview.
How do I edit a Legal Hold?
After clicking into the applicable Legal Hold card under "My Legal Holds" tab, click the "Edit Hold" button from the upper right-hand side of the page to make changes to an existing Legal Hold:
What edits can I make to a Legal Hold that has already sent?
Add new Custodians to a Legal Hold
Make edits to legal hold notice message for Added Custodians
Select to Preserve Data
Make edits to legal hold release message contents and subject line
If any edits are made to the Legal Hold Message, only newly-added custodians will receive the updated message once you click "Update Hold" to complete the Edit Hold function.
To email the updated message to existing custodians on the hold, click "Send" next to that custodian's name:
If you need to deliver a new Hold Message to all custodians (including those who have already been confirmed), you will need to create a new Legal Hold.