Identify, preserve, collect, review, and export Microsoft 365 content to support investigations and legal matters.
Electronic discovery (eDiscovery) is the process of identifying and producing electronically stored information (ESI) that can be used as evidence in investigations and legal cases. Microsoft Purview eDiscovery helps you search, preserve, and manage content stored in Microsoft 365 services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Groups, and Viva Engage.
LW IT Solutions deploys eDiscovery as a defensible, repeatable process that legal, compliance, HR, and IT teams can rely on. We configure role groups and permissions, establish case standards, and implement workflows for holds, searches, and exports with clear documentation and evidence-handling guidance. Where premium eDiscovery is in scope, we design the end-to-end workflow for custodians, collections, review sets, and export so complex matters can be managed consistently. The goal is faster, lower-risk investigations and a clear operating model rather than an ad hoc tool.
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Service Overview
Highlights
- eDiscovery readiness and operating model: roles, permissions, process, and governance
- Case setup: case structure, access controls, naming standards, and documentation
- Holds: design and implementation of holds associated with cases to preserve content relevant to investigations
- Search and collection approach: scoped searches across Microsoft 365 locations, query strategy, validation, and defensible documentation
- Export and handover: export configuration, chain-of-custody guidance, and repeatable workflows
- Premium capabilities (where applicable): end-to-end workflow to identify, preserve, collect, review, analyze, and export responsive content
Business Benefits
- Reduce investigation time by standardising case workflows and search approaches
- Improve defensibility with documented processes, access controls, and preservation practices
- Lower risk by ensuring relevant content is preserved promptly through case-based holds
- Enable collaboration between legal, compliance, and IT with clear roles and repeatable workflows
Typical use cases
- Internal investigations (HR, fraud, policy breaches) requiring content identification and preservation
- Legal matters requiring search, hold, and export of Microsoft 365 data
- DSAR/FOI-style information requests where structured search and export processes are required
- Improving existing eDiscovery processes (permissions, governance, documentation, workflow maturity)
- Implementing premium workflows for larger, complex, or high-volume cases (review/analysis requirements)
Objectives & deliverables
What Success Looks Like
- A repeatable eDiscovery workflow aligned to your legal/compliance requirements and organisational structure
- Configured access controls and case processes that are auditable and maintainable
- A practical approach for holds, searches, and exports that supports defensible evidence handling
What You Get
- eDiscovery readiness pack (process design, roles/permissions, governance, and case standards)
- Configured eDiscovery setup (permissions model, case templates/standards, and documentation approach)
- Hold workflow implementation for preservation aligned to your case management process
- Search strategy and query guidance, including validation and defensibility considerations
- Export workflow and evidence-handling guidance (chain-of-custody approach and operational handover)
- Optional: premium workflow configuration guidance for custodian management, review sets, analysis, and export where required
How It Works
- Discovery and requirements - confirm investigation types, legal/compliance requirements, target data sources, and current workflows.
- Design - define roles/permissions, case structure, hold workflow, search approach, export requirements, and evidence-handling standards.
- Configure and validate - implement eDiscovery configuration, permissions, case templates, and pilot workflows with controlled test cases.
- Operationalise - create runbooks, train relevant stakeholders (IT, compliance, legal), and establish governance for ongoing use.
- Support and optimise - tune workflows, refine search patterns, and provide ongoing support for complex cases if required.
Engagement Options
- eDiscovery Readiness Assessment - review current setup, roles, process, and provide a remediation plan
- eDiscovery Standard Deployment - implement case, hold, search, and export workflows suitable for many organisations
- eDiscovery Premium Programme - implement end-to-end workflow for larger, complex, or high-volume matters (where licensed)
- Operate - ongoing support for case management, search refinement, process governance, and training refreshers
Additional Information
Prerequisites & licensing
eDiscovery capabilities and premium features vary by subscription. We confirm licensing and prerequisites during discovery using Microsoft’s official licensing guidance and the Purview documentation for the features in scope.
- Users involved in eDiscovery need appropriate permissions and role assignments.
- Holds are created in the context of eDiscovery cases to preserve relevant content.
- Premium features (where applicable) extend the standard case management, preservation, search, and export capabilities with an end-to-end workflow.
Security & Compliance Notes
- eDiscovery is designed to support investigations by preserving and managing Microsoft 365 content for evidence handling and legal processes.
- A robust permissions model is essential to prevent excessive access and maintain defensibility.
- Where premium eDiscovery features are used, an end-to-end workflow can support preservation through review and export for complex cases.
Common Bundles
Customers who use this service often bundle with these services
Microsoft Purview E5 eDiscovery & Audit Add-on Enablement
Enable Microsoft Purview eDiscovery Premium and Audit Premium add-ons with configured policies, case processes, roles and operational runbooks.
Data Lifecycle & Records Management
Implement Microsoft Purview data lifecycle and records management to retain, dispose, and govern content consistently across Microsoft 365.
Information Protection & Sensitivity Labels
Design and deploy Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels to classify data, apply protection controls, and support safer collaboration across Microsoft 365.
Frequently Asked Questions
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