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Legal Holds

Preserve AI agent data during litigation, regulatory investigations, FOIA requests, or internal inquiries. Legal holds override automated retention policies, ensuring protected data is never deleted until the hold is released.

When to Use Legal Holds

Create a legal hold when you need to preserve data that would otherwise be deleted by retention policies:

Scenario Hold Type
Pending or anticipated lawsuit Litigation
Government or regulatory agency inquiry Regulatory Investigation
Freedom of Information Act request FOIA Request
Internal compliance or HR investigation Internal Investigation

Hold Types

Type Description
litigation Preservation for pending or anticipated legal proceedings
regulatory_investigation Response to government or regulatory agency inquiry
foia_request Freedom of Information Act or public records request
internal_investigation Internal compliance or HR investigation
other Other preservation requirement

What Can Be Preserved

Holds can protect specific types of data:

Data Type Description
Audit logs Records of agent activity and tool usage
Threads Conversation threads between users and agents
Messages Individual messages within threads
Files Uploaded documents and RAG content

Targeted vs. Blanket Holds

Blanket Holds

Protect all data of the specified types for an organization. Use when the scope of preservation is broad or undefined.

Targeted Holds

Protect only specific resources:

  • Specific conversation threads

  • Specific files or documents

Use targeted holds when you know exactly which data needs preservation, minimizing impact on normal retention operations.

Hold Lifecycle

1. Creation

Create a hold with:

  • Hold type (litigation, regulatory, FOIA, etc.)

  • Scope (which data types to protect)

  • Optional targets (specific threads or files)

  • Optional expiration date

  • Reference number for tracking

2. Active Period

While the hold is active:

  • Protected data is excluded from automated retention cleanup

  • Retention jobs report how many items were skipped due to holds

  • Users can still access the data normally

3. Release

When the hold is no longer needed:

  • Release with a documented reason

  • Data becomes eligible for retention on the next cleanup run

  • Release is recorded in the audit trail

API Reference

Create a Legal Hold

POST /v1/dashboard/organizations/:orgId/legal_holds

Request body:

{
  "reason": "litigation",
  "reference_number": "CASE-2024-001",
  "description": "Preserve records related to contract dispute",
  "hold_threads": true,
  "hold_messages": true,
  "hold_audit_logs": true,
  "target_thread_ids": ["thread_abc", "thread_def"]
}

List Legal Holds

GET /v1/dashboard/organizations/:orgId/legal_holds

Returns active holds. Add include_released=true to see full history.

Get Hold Details

GET /v1/dashboard/organizations/:orgId/legal_holds/:holdId

Release a Hold

POST /v1/dashboard/organizations/:orgId/legal_holds/:holdId/release

Request body:

{
  "release_reason": "Litigation concluded, no further preservation required"
}

Audit Trail

All legal hold operations are logged:

  • Hold creation (who, when, what scope)

  • Hold release (who, when, why)

This provides evidence that preservation requirements were properly implemented and managed.

Best Practices

  1. Act promptly — Create holds as soon as preservation is required

  2. Document thoroughly — Include reference numbers and clear descriptions

  3. Use targeted holds when possible — Minimize impact on normal retention

  4. Review regularly — Release holds when no longer needed

  5. Coordinate with legal — Ensure holds align with counsel's requirements

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