OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management - OpenText Legal Hold Integration and Automation

Common Integration Use Cases Between OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management and OpenText Legal Hold

1. Automatic Legal Hold on Declared Records

When a record is formally declared in OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management, the system can trigger OpenText Legal Hold to place that content, related versions, and associated metadata under hold if it matches an active matter, investigation, or litigation profile.

• Data flow: OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management to OpenText Legal Hold
• Business value: Prevents accidental deletion or disposition of records that are now legally relevant
• Typical users: Records managers, legal operations, compliance teams

2. Release of Legal Hold After Matter Closure

When Legal Hold is lifted, the integration can notify OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management to resume the normal retention schedule for the affected records. This ensures content is no longer frozen unnecessarily and can proceed to disposition when eligible.

• Data flow: OpenText Legal Hold to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Reduces storage and compliance overhead while restoring standard lifecycle management
• Typical users: Legal, records management, IT governance

3. Custodian and Matter Metadata Synchronization

OpenText Legal Hold can push custodian, matter, case, and hold status metadata into OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management so records managers can see which content is subject to legal preservation requirements directly within the records repository.

• Data flow: OpenText Legal Hold to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Improves visibility and reduces manual cross-referencing between legal and records teams
• Typical users: Legal counsel, records administrators, compliance officers

4. Exception Handling for Retention and Disposition

During scheduled disposition runs in OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management, the integration can check OpenText Legal Hold before deletion or destruction occurs. If a record is under hold, disposition is automatically blocked and an exception is logged for audit purposes.

• Data flow: Bi-directional
• Business value: Prevents policy violations and supports defensible disposition
• Typical users: Records management, legal, audit teams

5. Legal Hold Notification for New Records in Sensitive Matters

For high-risk matters such as investigations, claims, or regulatory inquiries, newly declared records in OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management can be evaluated against matter rules in OpenText Legal Hold. If the record matches a custodian, department, project, or case keyword, it is automatically added to the relevant hold.

• Data flow: OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management to OpenText Legal Hold
• Business value: Speeds preservation of newly created evidence and reduces reliance on manual review
• Typical users: Legal operations, compliance, business unit records coordinators

6. Audit-Ready Hold and Retention Reporting

By combining hold status from OpenText Legal Hold with retention and disposition history from OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management, organizations can produce unified reports showing why content was retained, when it was frozen, and when it became eligible for disposition.

• Data flow: Bi-directional
• Business value: Strengthens audit readiness and defensibility in regulatory reviews or litigation
• Typical users: Internal audit, legal, compliance, external counsel

7. Matter-Based Preservation of Entire Record Series

When a legal matter affects an entire record series, department, or project folder in OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management, the integration can apply a corresponding hold in OpenText Legal Hold to all related content and descendants. This is useful for enterprise investigations where preserving only individual files is not sufficient.

• Data flow: OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management to OpenText Legal Hold
• Business value: Ensures complete preservation scope and reduces risk of missing related evidence
• Typical users: Legal discovery teams, records managers, information governance leads

8. Centralized Governance Workflow for Hold Review and Release

A joint workflow can route hold requests, approvals, periodic reviews, and release decisions between legal and records management teams. OpenText Legal Hold manages the legal process, while OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management enforces the downstream retention actions once the hold is approved or removed.

• Data flow: Bi-directional
• Business value: Creates a controlled, auditable process across legal and records functions
• Typical users: Legal, records management, compliance, governance committees