Estimate the total cost of a legal hold including data storage, document review, custodian processing, and e-discovery platform licensing.
A legal hold requires potentially relevant data to be preserved once litigation is reasonably anticipated. This page estimates the cost of that hold using a simple model for storage, custodian review time, and platform licensing.
It is a budgeting worksheet, not a compliance verdict. Real legal-hold cost can also depend on collections, forensic imaging, outside vendors, remote device preservation, remediation work, and how long the hold remains active.
Legal-hold cost is easy to underestimate because the storage line item looks small while review time and platform duration keep compounding. This worksheet helps teams compare preservation scenarios and understand how long-running holds can affect case budget.
Storage Cost = Data Volume × Cost per GB × Months Review Cost = Custodians × Review Hours × Hourly Rate Total = Storage Cost + Review Cost + (Platform License × Months)
Result: $51,000.00 estimated legal hold cost
Storage: 500 GB × $0.50 × 12 = $3,000. Review: 20 × 8 × $150 = $24,000. Platform: $2,000 × 12 = $24,000. Total = $51,000.
Legal hold costs include data identification, collection, processing, storage, review, and production. Each phase has its own cost drivers and optimization opportunities. Early case assessment tools can reduce downstream costs.
TAR uses machine learning to prioritize documents for review, reducing the volume that human reviewers must examine. Studies show TAR can reduce review costs by 50–70% while maintaining or improving accuracy compared to linear review.
Organizations can reduce legal hold costs by implementing data governance policies, reducing redundant data, training employees on document management, and using in-house e-discovery tools for routine matters.
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This page estimates legal-hold cost by combining three inputs: storage cost, review cost, and monthly platform cost. Storage is data volume multiplied by cost per gigabyte and number of months. Review is custodians multiplied by review hours and reviewer rate. Platform cost is the monthly license charge multiplied by the hold duration.
The result is a budgeting aid, not a statement that a legal hold is sufficient or compliant. Actual preservation cost can change materially with forensic collections, mobile devices, cloud sources, re-interviews, outside vendors, and the scope of the hold.
A legal hold is a directive to preserve all documents, electronic data, and records that may be relevant to pending or anticipated litigation. It overrides normal data retention and destruction policies.
A legal hold lasts until the litigation is fully resolved, including appeals. Complex cases can keep holds active for 3–5 years or more. The duration directly impacts storage and platform costs.
A custodian is a person whose data or documents are subject to the legal hold. This typically includes employees with relevant knowledge, communications, or documents related to the litigation.
Failure to preserve evidence can result in spoliation sanctions, adverse inference instructions (the court tells the jury to assume the destroyed evidence was harmful), monetary penalties, or case dismissal. Use this calculator to model different scenarios and find the best approach.
Document review is typically the most expensive component, accounting for 60–80% of total e-discovery costs. Technology-assisted review and early case assessment can dramatically reduce this expense.
In some cases, the prevailing party can recover e-discovery costs as part of a cost award. However, this varies by jurisdiction and is not guaranteed. Budget conservatively.