/legal-hold

1. If --status (no slug): read _log.yaml, produce portfolio-wide hold report.
2. Otherwise: load ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/matters/[slug]/matter.md + log row.
3. Load ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md → privilege markings, hold template pointer, escalation norms.
4. Follow the workflow and reference below.
5. Route by flag:
   • --issue: capture scope, custodians, date range, systems. Draft legal-hold-v1.docx. Update legal_hold fields. Append history entry. Set next_refresh (default +6mo).
   • --refresh: capture scope/custodian changes. Draft next version. Update last_refresh + next_refresh. Flag departed custodians.
   • --release: capture release date, retention instruction. Draft release notice. Set released: field.
6. Confirm before writing. Show the user the draft notice and the log diff.

Legal Hold

Purpose

A legal hold is the most mechanical high-stakes document in-house counsel writes. The notice itself is templated. The failure modes are operational: issued too late, scoped too narrowly, never refreshed, never released. This skill owns all four phases: issue → refresh → (release) → track.

The portfolio already flags missing holds; this skill writes them.

Jurisdiction assumption

Preservation duties vary materially by forum. Federal common law (via Zubulake / Residential Funding / Rule 37(e)) differs from state practice; states differ from each other on trigger timing, scope, sanctions, and spoliation remedies; regulatory preservation obligations overlay civil rules in some matters (SEC Rule 17a-4, HIPAA, etc.). The trigger, scope, and sanctions exposure cited in the draft are a starting-point read for the forum named in the matter — confirm with counsel before issuing, refreshing, or releasing.

Load context

• ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/matters/_log.yaml — log row (legal_hold fields + status)
• ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/matters/[slug]/matter.md — matter context (counterparty, facts, key custodians from internal_owners)
• ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md — house style for litigation hold template pointer, privilege marking, escalation norms

Conflicts gate — unbypassable. Before issuing, refreshing, or releasing a hold, check _log.yaml for the matter slug. If the matter is not in _log.yaml, refuse and route:

"I don't see [matter slug] in the matter log. Run /litigation-legal:matter-intake first so the conflicts check runs and the matter workspace is set up. I won't issue, refresh, or release a legal hold on a matter that hasn't been intaken — the conflicts check is the gate, and a hold issued against an unmanaged matter has no _log.yaml row to track last_refresh / next_refresh / released against."

Do not proceed on an unintaken matter. Intake is what runs conflicts and writes the _log.yaml row the --refresh / --release / --status flags operate against.

Modes

The command takes a flag: --issue | --refresh | --release | --status. Default (no flag) → prompt.

--issue — first issuance

Required when legal_hold.issued == false and the matter is active or reasonably anticipated.

Before issuing the hold to custodians (the consequential act): Read ## Who's using this in ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md. If the Role is Non-lawyer:

Issuing a legal hold has legal consequences — the scope, custodian list, and timing create the preservation record the company will be judged on if spoliation is argued later. Have you reviewed this with an attorney? If yes, proceed. If no, here's a brief to bring to them:

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