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IBM StoredIQ for Legal provides features for managing data preservation for legal purposes. Data under legal hold typically stays in preservation state for months or years, but at some point, the legal obligation to preserve this data might be removed. Not releasing documents on hold does not violate any legal obligation, but keeping preserved data is risky and costly. In IBM StoredIQ for Legal 2.0.3.9, a feature that allows for managing release of such data was introduced. In version 2.0.3.9, the release scope could be reduced by custodian, data source category, and data source. In IBM StoredIQ for Legal 2.0.3.10, users can additionally limit the release scope by date range. This blog explains the details of the feature that allows for limiting the release scope by date range.

1. Attributes

To support limiting the release scope by date range, the following new attributes were added.

Data Request Attributes

Fulfillment Item Attributes

Release Status

Some new values were added to the release status attribute. This is the list of possible values.

2. System configuration

To enable limiting the release scope by date range in your system, open Admin > System Settings and select Yes for Allow to release data by date ranges. When this option is enabled, the same option is available when a new release request is created.

3. Creating a release data request with a release scope limited by date range

You can limit the release scope by date range in the following 4 places.

• In the request information form in the data request draft editor to limit the release scope by date range at data request level
• In the custodians list in the data request draft editor to limit the release scope by date range at custodian level
• In the fulfillment details form to limit the release scope by date range at fulfillment item level
• In the wizard for creating multiple release requests to limit the release scope by date range for multiple release requests

To create a release request from a single preservation request with a release scope limited by date range, click Release and select Allow to release data by date ranges.

In the data request editor, the request information form opens. In this form, date ranges should be configured as editable. The initial value of any date range is same as in the parent preservation request. Specify date ranges for which you want to release data in this release request. The value can be overridden later at custodian level or fulfillment item level.

On the Custodians page, date ranges for a custodian can be overridden. The initial values of the date ranges are the same as the custodian date ranges in the parent preservation request. Select a custodian and click Edit Date Ranges to update the date ranges.

Specify the date ranges for which you want to release data of the selected custodian.

If no date range is specified for a custodian, the data request level date range is applied to the custodian.

After submitting the release request, work packages are automatically created. Fulfillment items of the parent preservation request are split. The following picture illustrates the relationships among objects in the parent preservation request and child release request. A data request owns work packages, and a work package owns fulfillment items. A release request is created from a preservation request. Child work packages are created from parent work packages that contain selected release scope data. Child fulfillment items are split from parent fulfillment item for the reduced date range.

In the split fulfillment item for release, the “Release Subset” flag is set to true. Initial date ranges for each fulfillment item are an intersection of the parent fulfillment item’s date range and the custodian’s release date range (see date range calculation section for details).

In the refinement phase, date ranges of the fulfillment items are modifiable. To update the date ranges, click Edit Information.

In the Edit Information window, the fulfillment details form opens. In this form, date range should be configured as editable. Optionally, release parent date ranges can be shown for reference.

The date ranges must be within unreleased date range. Otherwise, the following error is thrown.

Another way to limit the release scope by date ranges is in the wizard for creating multiple release requests. By using this wizard, you can limit the release scope by date ranges for multiple data requests and multiple custodians in the same matter at once. To do so, select Create Multiple Release Data Requests and select Allow to release data by date ranges. When this option is selected, the Date Ranges page is added to the wizard.

On the Date Ranges page, specify the date ranges for which you want to release data.

When the wizard is completed, the created release data requests are automatically submitted. The data range values of the release requests are the date ranges specified in the wizard. You can verify the settings by viewing the request information.

For all custodians, the date range is the value specified in the wizard. It is same for custodians for whom date ranges are overridden in the parent preservation request.

Under the release requests, work packages are automatically created. The work packages have fulfillment items split for release of specified date ranges. The date ranges for each fulfillment item are an intersection of the parent fulfillment item’s date ranges and specified date ranges in the wizard.

4. Date range calculation

When a data request is submitted, the Stored IQ for Legal system automatically calculates the intersection of preservation fulfillment item and custodian date ranges of the release request and sets the result as date ranges for the fulfillment item of the release request.

In the release request, you can specify a wider date range than the parent preservation request date ranges. This is because some fulfillment item under the preservation request can have a wider date range than the date range at data request level or custodian level. To be able to include those date ranges into the release request, the Stored IQ for Legal system allows to set wider date ranges there.

The calculation is based on the date range of the fulfillment item in the preservation request that you want to release and date range of the release request or the date range overridden for the custodian in the release request. This section explains by using examples how the intersection is calculated.

If the release parent fulfillment item has multiple date ranges and the custodian’s date range for the release request is one of them, the date range of the release fulfillment item is same as the custodian’s date range for the release request. The other date ranges are tracked as unreleased date ranges.

If the custodian’s date range is part of the release parent fulfillment item date ranges, the date range of the release fulfillment item is same as the custodian’s date range for the release request. Remaining ranges are tracked as unreleased date ranges.

If a date range has an open start date or end date (start date or end date is not specified), the date range is considered is unlimited. If the release parent fulfillment item has an open end date and the custodian date range of the release request has and end date, the date range starting with the date following this end date is tracked as unreleased date range.

If a custodian’s date range is wider than the date range of the release parent fulfillment item, the date range of the release fulfillment item is the same as for the release parent fulfillment item. The unreleased date range is empty.

If the date range of the release parent fulfillment item and the custodian’s release date range overlap, the release fulfillment item date range is the overlapping date range.

If there is no overlap between the date range of release parent fulfillment item and the custodian’s release date range, the fulfillment item is excluded from the release request.

5. Completing a work package

After submitting a work package under a release request, the workflow for the work package starts. In the work package task, the initial values of Total Items and Total Size for the release child fulfillment items are empty. This is different from when limiting release scope by date range is not allowed, where these values are already filled. In the fulfillment results form, these attributes should be configured as editable.

Enter the total item count and size that are released in this fulfillment item, and click Mark as Complete. At the top, the sum of total items and the total size of completed fulfillment items are displayed.

In the matter overview, the total size and the total count of completed release fulfillment items are subtracted (24+2-2=24).

6. Tracking release status

The status of what is released and what is not released yet is tracked in the parent preservation request. In the work package of the parent preservation request, date ranges that are not released yet are shown in the Unreleased Date Ranges column. When no date range remains, the column is empty. When some parts of date ranges are under release or released but there are some date ranges that are not released yet, the release status is set to PartiallyRequestedOrReleased. If all date ranges are under release or released, the release status is set to AllRequestedOrReleased.

If all date ranges are released (all release requests that include split fulfillment items of the  parent fulfillment item are completed), the release status is marked as Completed.

7. Releasing data from a preservation request with existing scoped release requests

When you create a release request from a preservation request for which a release request with a release scope limited by date ranges already exists, the Allow to release data by date ranges option is automatically selected and is read only. This is because fulfillment items under the preservation request are already split, and fulfillment items of this release request have to be split as well.

The date range of the fulfillment items in the release request is calculated from the unreleased date range instead of the original date range of the release parent fulfillment item. The value is an intersection of the unreleased date range and the custodian date range of the release request.