Release of Legal Hold Notice Form

This form serves as the release notification that closes a prior litigation hold and instructs records owners and departments to resume normal retention and destruction. It captures the records custodian or department, a case ID or contract reference, and a list of records that were held, covering paper records and electronic data with their data collection sites (file shares, mailboxes, backups, smartphones, workstations) and records location details such as mapped drives or file cabinets. A signature line requires the department or records owner to acknowledge compliance. Once the hold is over, the records department proceeds under the Records Program Policies and Procedures and the records retention manual to resume auto-destruction where appropriate.

In practice, this release follows an issuance notification that began the litigation hold when litigation was reasonably anticipated or reasonably foreseeable. During the hold, organizations assign custodians, issue custodian communications, suspend deletion, segregate future information, preserve in original electronic form, and ensure metadata is preserved through reasonable measures to preserve potentially relevant information in possession, custody, or control. The release of hold criteria often includes events that trigger notifications that litigation is resolved: dismissed with prejudice, settlement reached, summary judgment granted, judgment entered, consent decree, statute of limitations expired, or government declines prosecution. If litigation is not reasonably foreseeable or a triggering event changes, a re-issuance notification with reminders and escalations may be appropriate.

Operationally, best practices call for notice to the IT department, IT department coordination on separate mailboxes and systems, and outside counsel guidance for a forensically defensible collection process. The issuing officer, office of legal affairs, general counsel, or human resources coordination should monitor compliance, notify affected personnel, and release the custodian when appropriate. Clear policy scope, a definitions section, preservation notice content, and authority to place or release are vital topics of a litigation hold policy or university policy (for example, policy 7:4 legal holds or university policy 605.4). These practice pointers help avoid spoliation of evidence, adverse inference, and spoliation sanctions under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including FRCP 37(e), in federal courts, Illinois courts, or Department of Justice matters. Organizations may also align case management and notification workflow with tools such as Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Premium) after retirement of classic eDiscovery, using a communications library, communications editor, cc and bcc, reminder interval, escalation interval, and a case list to manage unresponsive custodians and records identification.

Use cases include an HR investigation, a licensing agreement dispute, or parallel lawsuits where the obligation to preserve applies to preserve relevant information and preserve all affected records until release when the matter is resolved.

The Proposal Kit helps teams author and assemble this communication template and related portal content quickly. Its document assembly, extensive template library, and AI Writer can produce preservation obligations notices, legal hold policy materials, and forms like this release; automated line-item quoting supports broader Proposal and budgeting needs; and its ease of use streamlines the hold workflow documentation and notifies legal packages without adding unnecessary complexity.

Beyond closing the hold, this release sits within a broader lifecycle shaped by the duty to preserve that arises during reasonably anticipated litigation or any investigation or action. The preservation duty requires organizations to suspend normal destruction and preserve potentially relevant records in both paper and electronic form, within their possession, custody, and control, for the time frame at issue. That begins with a preservation obligations notice, notifications to custodians, and ediscovery communications that explain what to keep and where.

Clear assigning custodians practices, including the steps to assign custodians to receive notifications, help maintain a defensible communication workflow and acknowledgment tracking through signed confirmations. Training and reminders reinforce reasonable, good-faith efforts and reduce policy violations that can lead to disciplinary action.

In higher education, university personnel benefit from defined processes that identify affected university personnel early, standardize the notification process, and specify how records policy violations will be handled. Examples include research misconduct reviews, faculty HR disputes, or grant-related audits, where teams need to preserve electronic mailboxes, shared drives, and lab notebooks. When the matter concludes, this release tells custodians exactly when routine processes can resume, minimizing risk while avoiding unnecessary storage and confusion.

Proposal Kit helps teams write and assemble the preservation obligations notice, initial and follow-up notifications, and the release using consistent language and templates. Its document assembly, extensive template library, and AI Writer make it faster to customize ediscovery communications and related forms while documenting requirements such as acknowledgment tracking, training, and reminders, and the communication workflow. Automated line-item quoting supports planning for collection and review budgets, and the system's ease of use helps legal, IT, and business users produce clear, compliant materials without slowing operations.

Teams should also plan for partial releases. A custodian can be released from one matter while remaining on hold for parallel lawsuits or another investigation or action. The notification process should state clearly which data sources and the time frame at issue are cleared, and which remain subject to the duty to preserve.

Map records identification to precise records location entries so the release notification lines up with what the preservation obligations notice originally captured. Before reactivating auto-destruction, confirm no other triggering event keeps the preservation duty alive and that metadata preserved copies, if any, remain available per the records retention manual.

Governance details matter. Define who the issuing officer is, what authority to place or release applies, and how policy scope and a definitions section explain possession, custody, and control across cloud repositories, backup systems, and paper records. If unresponsive custodians do not acknowledge compliance, maintain reminders and escalations, and route to human resources coordination for potential violations, disciplinary action consistent with university policy will be taken.

Use cc and bcc as part of a defensible communication workflow, and document reasonable good faith steps should policy violations or records policy violations arise. Coordinate with the IT department to resume normal processes in stages, such as separating mailboxes that are still on hold while other custodians are released, and ensure outside counsel signs off when events that trigger notifications include judgment entered, consent decree, or government declines prosecution.

Proposal Kit can help produce consistent ediscovery communications, from notifications to custodians through the release, using its communications library, templates, and AI Writer. Teams can assemble checklists for assigning custodians, build standard portal content, and keep language uniform across a case list, making it easier to assign custodians to receive notifications and create clear, reusable documents that support training and reminders without slowing operations.

How to write my Release of Legal Hold Notice Form document

Release of Legal Hold Notice Form

Records Custodian's Name or Department: Insert name of record keeper. Case ID Number: Contract Reference Number. Release of a Legal Hold.

This is to provide notification to the records owners/departments of the release of data and Company Name will resume normal retention and destruction processes. If records were scheduled for destruction during the litigation hold period the records department will proceed with the destruction process outlined in the Records Program Policies and Procedures. List of records that were under legal hold for specified owner or department.

Data Owners Name Content Description Data Collection Site (file share, mailbox, backup, workstation, smart phone, etc.) Data Custodian's - Network and or Physical Location (mapped drive, file cabinet). Requires signature of the department or records owner for acknowledgement of the notification.