“Too Hard to Collect” no longer works, how cloud platforms have redefined litigation discovery forever

A couple years ago a global manufacturing client of a major law firm began preparing for a potential regulatory investigation. The client believed they were safe: much of their legacy corporate data was archived, stored across multiple on-prem systems, and tucked away in older projects. Their working assumption? When a request came, they could argue, “Yes, the data exists, but recovery will be very difficult, and thus our exposure is limited.”

What surprised them: when the cloud-migration team began moving decades of content into Microsoft 365 (cloud based hosting) and shared collaboration drives, one simple Slack export turned up thousands of attachments and chat threads stretching back five years; none of which had been tagged, archived, or subject to a retention policy. Within hours, the “hard to collect” defense disappeared. As one forensic consultant later remarked: “Collecting cloud data is not a technical checklist… many in-house teams are not prepared to manage it.” 

For outside litigators advising enterprise clients, this is the call to action: if your client’s data estate is ungoverned, every matter becomes a discovery bonanza, for the opposing party, the regulator, or the plaintiff’s bar.

The illusion of inaccessibility

In the early days of litigation, a prized defense tactic was arguing that certain data were difficult to access, on old tape drives, decommissioned servers, or legacy systems long since left behind. Adversaries often accepted, begrudgingly, that retrieval would be costly, burdensome, maybe even impossible. That logistical friction served as a de facto buffer.

But the cloud changed the equation completely. As one article noted, organizations once migrating to cloud platforms like Atlassian Cloud, Google Drive, and Slack discovered that “the ability to defensibly collect data … has become essential,” and none of the old excuses apply.  What changed: the data is still accessible, still there, and increasingly organized in ways that make collection easier not harder.

When you or your clients use cloud based collaboration tools, chat platforms, shared drives, versioning systems, and mobile integrations, what once was buried now pops right up. When things pop up, litigation risk accelerates.

Cloud = discoverable by default

Consider this scenario: A client used a project-management platform, such as Atlassian Jira Cloud, for internal change-management tasks across nine global offices. Over the years, the platform accumulated hundreds of projects: archived projects, obsolete workflows, closed matter tickets, attachments, internal memos, chat logs. No retention policy. No deletion schedule. No classification of privilege. When a whistleblower complaint was filed, the opposing counsel demanded access to all channels, all files, all things “related to the program.” Because the system was in the cloud, the retrieval returned terabytes of content in days.

What they discovered

• Many files belonged to non-responsive custodians, or were unrelated to the matter entirely.
• The volume ballooned review time, cost, and risk of privilege exposure.
• Because no retention schedule was applied, the “archive” became the liability.

It’s not just that data is easier to collect, it’s that nothing stops it from being collected. With moves like Atlassian Data Center to Atlassian Cloud, we are at a tipping point across tech with the mass migration to the cloud and the flood of remote endpoints. If you are a CISO, a litigator, or work in information services, you should frame governance not as optional; but essential if they are to contain exposure. That’s where a solution like Opus Guard comes in.

How Opus Guard changes the game

With Content Retention Manager, counsel can recommend a governance layer that sits upstream of discovery, so the content that ends up under review is fewer in quantity, better classified, and already audit-ready.

Here’s how it works

• Automated matter-lifecycle rules: When a matter closes, retention schedules trigger archival or deletion according to policy (not just “keep everything”). This means stale content doesn’t accumulate.
• Hold management built in: If a new issue arises, purge is suspended, holds are applied, audit logs captured, all without manual spreadsheets or forgotten triggers.
• Privilege and sensitive classification: High-risk content gets tagged and managed separately, reducing the chance of inadvertent production or exposure.
• Clean feed into e-discovery: When your client does have to collect for litigation, the dataset is cleaner, smaller, and more defensible, saving time and money.

When you as in-house or as outside counsel, integrate Opus Guard into your advisory offering, you’re no longer just reacting to litigation, you’re helping clients win at prevention. You position yourself as modern, tech-enabled, forward-looking.

Why it matters now

The era of the “hard-to-collect” defense is over. With remote workforce models, collaboration apps, global cloud infrastructure, and always-on operations, your client’s data is accessible, discoverable and growing. The risk isn’t just content under review, it’s content never reviewed. A governance failure today quickly becomes a litigation crisis tomorrow. By recommending and helping deploy Content Retention Manager in Atlassian now, you demonstrate that you’re not just litigating past problems, you’re protecting your team and client from future ones.

Take action for your team or clients

• Encourage your client to map their Atlassian Jira and Confluence content estate: project spaces, collaboration tools, closed matters, archived tickets.
• Help them define retention/deletion policy aligned with matter lifecycle and risk tolerance.
• Recommend the pilot of Opus Guard’s governance layer to reduce review volume, limit exposure, and prove defensibility.

When you guide your team or enterprise client to govern before they’re forced to collect, you solidify your role as a trusted advisor, and you turn what might look like legal cost into strategic capability.

Ready to help your clients move from reactive litigation to proactive governance? Partner with Opus Guard and bring them the control, transparency and readiness they need before the next matter lands.

Working as outside counsel?

Opus Guard offers outside counsel firms a complimentary or discounted first-matter pilot, so you can demonstrate measurable results for a client without commitment. It’s the easiest way to prove how proactive governance cuts cost, saves review time, and strengthens litigation posture.