Have you ever held onto a document, an email, or an old contract and thought, “I might need this someday,” even though you couldn’t remember the last time you looked at it? If so, you’re not alone. For many in-house lawyers, keeping data feels safer than deleting it. However, understanding legal data retention is crucial, as AI becomes woven into legal operations, that instinct may be creating more risk than protection.
This issue came into sharp focus during a recent conversation with Jeff Cunningham, a law firm general counsel who spends much of his time helping lawyers think through risk management in a world driven by data. His message was simple but uncomfortable. In the context of legal data retention, you cannot lose what you do not have, and in the AI era, excess data is no longer a neutral asset.
Watch the full conversation with Jeff Cunningham:
Why Legal Teams Hold Onto Too Much
Lawyers are trained to anticipate future disputes. That mindset encourages collection and preservation. Old drafts, legacy contracts, intake forms, and correspondence all feel potentially useful. In-house teams often justify retention by imagining a future audit, litigation, or regulatory inquiry where that one forgotten document becomes critical in the realm of legal data retention.
In reality, most retained data never gets used again. Worse, it quietly increases exposure. Every extra data point is something that can be breached, misused, misunderstood, or surfaced by AI in ways no one anticipated. As generative tools make it easier to search, summarize, and analyze large datasets, the volume of retained information matters far more than it once did.
AI Turns Data Hoarding Into a Risk Multiplier
AI does not create risk on its own. It amplifies what already exists. When legal departments feed large, messy datasets into tools, they increase the chances of pulling outdated, irrelevant, or sensitive information into current decision-making. Legal data retention policies play a crucial role; the more you keep, the harder it becomes to control context and accuracy.
There is also a growing distinction between confidential information and proprietary information. In-house lawyers are excellent at protecting privilege, but proprietary data often carries real monetary value. Social Security numbers, birthdates, internal pricing models, and business strategies create measurable damages when exposed. AI tools make that data more accessible, which means the cost of retaining unnecessary information keeps rising.
Retention Discipline Starts Before Collection
The most effective data retention strategy does not begin with deletion. It starts with restraint. In-house legal teams should question what data they collect in the first place. If a piece of information is not legally required, operationally necessary, or directly valuable, it may not belong in the system as part of legal data retention strategies at all.
This mindset shift can feel personal. Documents represent effort, judgment, and history. Letting go can feel like erasing work. But thoughtful retention is not about discarding value. It is about protecting it. Clear policies help teams preserve what matters while confidently disposing of what does not.
A Practical Leadership Opportunity for In-House Counsel
AI forces legal departments to confront habits that once felt harmless. Retention discipline is one of them. In-house lawyers are uniquely positioned to lead this change because they understand both legal risk and business impact. Simplifying what data exists makes AI safer, compliance easier, and legal advice more reliable, all within the framework of legal data retention principles.
The goal is not perfection. It is intention. In the age of AI, smaller, cleaner datasets support better judgment. Sometimes the most strategic move an in-house lawyer can make is not adding another tool, but deciding what no longer needs to be kept.
Watch the full conversation here: Notes to My (Legal) Self: Season 9, Episode 4 (ft. Jeff Cunningham)
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