The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to adapt to significant changes in the business environment. In March 2020, many companies instituted office closings, sending most of their employees' home to work remotely. In turn, this led to the increased use of home computer systems, and new collaboration and communication platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom. Nearly two years later, it is apparent that at least some remote work, and the increased use of home systems and collaboration and messaging applications, is not going away.

Optimal legal hold management begins with the adoption of "best practices" including: issuing legal holds as soon as practicable; scoping notices to avoid under-retention or over-retention; properly documenting and tracking legal holds; sending periodic reminder notices to hold custodians; and promptly lifting legal holds once the underlying matters are resolved. Beyond these basics, business changes surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic should motivate companies to update their legal hold policies and practices to ensure that they properly address remote work scenarios, including data repositories outside the office and the increased use of collaboration tools beyond email. This article addresses traditional legal hold best practices and recommends consideration of updates post-COVID.