The Risks of Legal Data Migration – And How to Tackle Them

Moving data is one of those tasks that sounds simple until it's not. And you probably won't find out it's not easy until you are the one doing it. For legal teams, it's not just about dragging files from A to B; it's about contracts, sensitive emails, and records you might need in court one day. And the reality is that even the smallest slip-up or mistake can cause you way more headaches than the migration was supposed to solve.

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If you're facing the task of data migration, this post is going to look at some issues you need to be aware of before you get going.

Files Disappearing Into The Void

Losing a spreadsheet in day-to-day work is annoying. Losing a signed contract or years of correspondence during the migration process, though, can be an absolute nightmare. All it takes is one missing file to derail an investigation or case. So what is the answer? It's simple, it's checks, backups, and a clear, structured, mapped-out process so you know where every document is every step of the way.

Compliance Matters

The law doesn't just suddenly bend because you are in the midst of migrating data. Personal records, confidential agreements, or health and financial records still matter and have the same protections in place, and are still an important consideration. This is where using Legal Data Migration software matters: the encryption offered during the process and audit trails will keep you compliant while the files are in motion.

Metadata Risks

The information isn't just in the documents, and it's also in the metadata. Metadata is the timeline you need of who created it, when, and how it's been handled since. During the migration, this can be at risk of getting lost, and you can't afford that to happen. Because when you strip the metadata away, you're left with documents you can't fully trust. Test in smaller chunks before migrating larger files, to ensure metadata is preserved, and backup, and check more than once if needed, as this is going to help you preserve all of the information your records need.

Hidden Costs

Migrating data is supposed to make life easier but oftentimes there are hidden costs you won't uncover until you're in the process.

Sure, you know about the staff and the software costs you have, and have taken them into account. But what about the cost if things go wrong? The cost of your reputation, the hours spent trying to regain the lost information, and the client's trust in your abilities. It all adds up, and it can be much more expensive than it initially seemed. The trick to avoiding these costs is planning, knowing what needs to be moved, how, and when to avoid mistakes that can ramp up costs and harm your company.

Legal data migration isn't glamorous, but it's essential, and while it can be beneficial, it can also present previously unrecognized risks to what you do. The key is knowing the risks beforehand, understanding them, and having correct processes and protocols in place that minimise errors and keep things moving forward as you need them to.