Preserve a departing attorney's data, identify the client and matter information that should stay with the firm, and move validated content into the governed system before the account is closed.
Not every client instruction or matter communication reaches the DMS. When information remains only in email, closing a departing attorney’s account becomes more than an administrative task.
A filing policy sets expectations, but it cannot identify the client or matter information still held only in the departing attorney’s account.
Reviewing the account item by item consumes lawyer or specialist time and can produce different results across reviewers.
Maintaining the account preserves access, but continues licensing, security, and administration for an identity no longer in active use.
If the account closes before client and matter information is identified and routed, that information may become harder to find, govern, or transfer.
The first requirement is to keep potentially important information from disappearing before anyone can determine whether it belongs to the firm. Preservation creates the time and control needed to make that decision.
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Expireon™ provides an independent preservation environment where the departing attorney's data remains available while authorized reviewers evaluate what requires further action.
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Preservation separates the timing of account closure from the timing of client data review, so IT can complete offboarding on its normal schedule.
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The firm takes the time it needs to work through what the attorney left behind, and decides what requires further action once the information is safe.
Attorney transition follows the Legal Data Continuity operating model through a firm-specific sequence. A confirmed departure triggers six handoffs from preservation through disposition.
A confirmed attorney departure or approved offboarding event starts the workflow. Preserve the account in Expireon before closure or scheduled deletion changes access to it.
Authorized personnel search for client and matter information that remains outside the firm’s governed repositories.
Reviewers determine what should remain with the firm, what should transfer elsewhere, and which governed destination should receive each population.
Move approved information to the DMS, another governed repository, or an authorized recipient.
Confirm that required information reached its destination and that any separate preservation requirements remain satisfied.
Apply the firm’s retention and disposition procedures to the remaining population, with the decision and audit history recorded.
Once the account is preserved, Expireon supports search and classification across the preserved population, narrowing it so authorized firm personnel can evaluate what matters efficiently.
Authorized reviewers evaluate identified information against firm policy, client requirements, matter structure, and existing records. Each population then follows its approved path: transfer, continued preservation, or disposition.
What is Attorney Transition and Client Data Governance?
What happens to a departing attorney's email and files?
Can a law firm close a departing attorney's account before reviewing client information?
Where should client information found outside the DMS go?
Does the technology decide what belongs in the client record?
See how Cloudficient can preserve departing attorney data, identify information that requires continued governance, and transition validated client and matter content into your firm's governed systems.