Case Tracking, Compliance, Tutorial

Creating an Email Retention Policy for Legal Compliance Using Microsoft 365

Posted on by Jeff Kirksey
15
Apr

Law firms must retain and manage client communications in compliance with legal, ethical, and regulatory standards. Microsoft 365 provides built-in tools to create and enforce email retention policies, helping legal professionals reduce risk, meet recordkeeping obligations, and prepare for potential audits or litigation.

This tutorial walks legal IT administrators and practice managers through creating a retention policy for Outlook email using Microsoft Purview Compliance Center.

Step-by-Step Guide: Email Retention Policy in Microsoft 365

Step 1: Access Microsoft Purview Compliance Center

  1. Go to https://compliance.microsoft.com.
  2. Log in with Global Administrator or Compliance Administrator privileges.
  3. In the left pane, select Data Lifecycle Management > Microsoft 365 > Retention Policies.

⚖️ Compliance Tip: Only authorized legal IT or records managers should configure retention settings.

Step 2: Create a New Retention Policy

  1. Click + New retention policy.
  2. Name the policy:
    • Example: “Litigation Email – 7 Year Retention”
  3. Click Next to configure policy settings.

📌 Legal Use Case: Retain client emails for 7 years to comply with bar association or regulatory mandates.

Step 3: Define Policy Settings and Scope

  1. Select Email (Exchange mailboxes) as the content to apply retention to.
  2. Choose a retention duration:
    • Retain items for 7 years
    • Then delete, or allow users to delete (based on firm policy)
  3. Choose Specific users or groups, or apply it firm-wide.

📨 Practice Group Tip: Create policies for different groups—Litigation, Tax, Real Estate—based on compliance needs.

Step 4: Review and Create the Policy

  1. Review all settings.
  2. Click Submit to create the policy.
  3. It may take up to 24 hours for the policy to begin applying to mailboxes.

🛡️ Risk Management: Retention policies reduce liability by ensuring timely deletion of non-essential data after legal requirements expire.

Step 5: Monitor and Audit Retention Policy Compliance

  1. Return to Data Lifecycle Management > Policies.
  2. Click on your retention policy to view:
    • Status
    • Affected users
    • Policy application logs
  3. Use Audit logs for compliance reporting or eDiscovery tracking.

📄 Audit Tip: Document retention settings and scope for internal and external audit readiness.

Conclusion

By using Microsoft 365 retention policies, law firms can automate compliance, reduce manual errors, and ensure email records are preserved or purged according to legal obligations. These policies support defensible disposition, improve data hygiene, and strengthen information governance.