Preservation Hold Process | Technology Services

The Preservation Hold process is comprised of several stages.

Note: The time frame between the initiation of a hold, collection of preserved ESI, and finalization of a hold can range between months and years. After the hold is lifted, all relevant ESI is still subject to the records retention schedule.

Phase 1: Initiation

Step #	Task	Overall Responsible	Personnel
*Step 1*	Institution notified of a new legal matter and requested to provide IT contacts for named persons.	OGC	ESI Preservation Coordinator
*Situational*	Specific precautions may be considered depending on the nature of the new legal matter and named persons.		ESI Preservation Coordinator
*Situational*	NetID status determined for named persons identified as former employees or students. Active NetIDs are placed on hold to prevent lifecycle processes from eliminating NetID-authenticated accounts. OGC notified of inactive NetIDs.		ESI Preservation Coordinator
*Step 2*	Institution acknowledges new hold in AccessData EDiscovery and provides identified IT contacts to OGC.		ESI Preservation Coordinator
*Step 3*	Preservation Personnel notified of new hold through AccessData EDiscovery.	OGC	ESI Preservation Coordinator, Preservation Personnel
*Step 4*	Preservation Personnel acknowledge new hold within AccessData EDiscovery.		Preservation Personnel
*Step 5*	Custodians notified of new hold.		OGC
*Step 6*	Custodians acknowledge new hold within AcessData EDiscovery.		Custodians
*Step 7*	New hold record created in accordance to the guidelines within the TAMUS Standard: Preservation Holds.		ESI Preservation Coordinator

Phase 2: Identification

Step #	Task	Overall Responsible	Personnel
*Step 1*	Custodians sent E-Discovery questionnaires through AccessData EDiscovery.	OGC	Custodians
*Step 2*	E-Discovery questionnaires completed within AccessData EDiscovery.		Custodians
*optional*	Unit IT assistance requested and/or provided to complete questionnaire.		Custodian, Preservation Personnel
*Step 3*	E-Discovery questionnaires forwarded to institution and relevant Preservation Personnel.	OGC	ESI Preservation Coordinator, Preservation Personnel

Phase 3: Preservation

Step #	Task	Overall Responsible	Personnel
*Step 1*	Immediately start preserving relevant ESI when instructed by OGC.	Custodians	Preservation Personnel, ESI Preservation Coordinator
*optional*	Assist custodians with technical questions related to the preservation of ESI.	Preservation Personnel	Custodians, ESI Preservation Coordinator
*Step 2*	Enable NetID holds and email holds on all applicable TAMU Exchange and TAMU Gmail mailboxes for custodians.		ESI Preservation Coordinator
*Situational*	Enable email holds on mailboxes not hosted on TAMU Exchange or TAMU Gmail (i.e. department/college/division mail server) for custodians.		Preservation Personnel
*optional*	Request guidance on the act of preserving ESI from ESI Preservation Coordinator.	Preservation Personnel	ESI Preservation Coordinator

Phase 4: Collection

Step #	Task	Overall Responsible	Personnel
*Step 1*	Await OGC instructions to collect ESI.	OGC	ESI Preservation Coordinator, Preservation Personnel, Custodians
*Step 2*	Provide instruction and guidance for collection.	ESI Preservation Coordinator	Preservation Personnel
*Step 3*	Collect and submit ESI to OGC per instructions.	ESI Preservation Coordinator	Preservation Personnel, Custodians
*Step 4*	Maintain hold on ESI until notified by OGC to release.	ESI Preservation Coordinator, Preservation Personnel, Custodians	OGC

Phase 5: Finalization

Step #	Task	Overall Responsible	Personnel
*Step 1*	Await official announcement from OGC notifying institution that the hold has been closed.	OGC	ESI Preservation Coordinator, Preservation Personnel, Custodians
*Step 2*	Maintain collected data per OGC instruction/records retention schedule after the hold has been closed.		ESI Preservation Coordinator
*Step 3*	Destroy collected ESI after the records retention schedule has been met.		ESI Preservation Coordinator

Last Modified: August 12, 2025