Modern Attachments, Modern Challenges: Best Practices for Managing Linked Documents in EDiscovery

Modern Attachments, Modern Challenges: Best Practices for Managing Linked Documents in EDiscovery

As cloud-based collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Google Docs become standard in the workplace, law firms encounter new complexities in eDiscovery, especially regarding “modern attachments,” according to an ACEDS article by Ari Kaplan.

These are not traditional email attachments, but hyperlinks to live documents stored in the cloud, often edited in real time. Their dynamic nature makes preservation, collection, and review more challenging and risk-prone if not handled with updated protocols.

Best practices begin with early identification. Kaplan says that legal teams must ask targeted questions to determine how organizations use collaboration platforms and where data is stored. Understanding how cloud tools manage metadata, version histories, and access permissions is crucial for building a defensible collection strategy. Traditional legal hold processes need to be reexamined to ensure that linked documents are preserved alongside core communications.

Kaplan also notes that timely and proactive collection is critical. Hyperlinked documents can be altered or deleted without triggering alerts, making it vital to capture snapshots at the earliest opportunity. Preserving not only the content but also contextual data, such as timestamps, editors, and prior versions, can protect against disputes over authenticity or completeness.

Legal teams should work closely with IT to develop workflows that treat linked content as primary evidence. Technology solutions that automate link resolution and capture associated files help streamline this process and reduce the risk of gaps in the discovery record.

For managing partners, modern attachments demand modern workflows. By investing in education, technology, and forward-looking protocols, firms can minimize risk, improve defensibility, and keep pace with evolving standards in digital discovery.