Managing Custodians

Last updated: 2026-03-23

The Custodians panel in Case Settings gives you a centralized view of all custodians in your case. From here you can see file counts, rename custodians, and delete custodians. Deleting a custodian doesn't delete the files associated with it.

Viewing custodians

Open Case Settings and select the Custodians tab. The panel shows a scrollable list sorted alphabetically. Each entry displays the custodian name and the number of files currently assigned.

The file count gives you a quick overview of how documents are distributed across custodians. A custodian with zero files may mean assignments haven't been made yet, or that all files were later unassigned. This helps you spot gaps before production.

Renaming custodians

Find the custodian in the list and click the edit icon next to their name. A dialog opens where you type the new name. Confirm to update the custodian name across the entire case.

Renaming updates the name everywhere it appears: the file context menu, custodian-filtered views, and future export outputs. All existing file assignments are preserved. The same naming rules apply as when creating a custodian: 1 to 100 characters, unique within the case.

Deleting custodians

Click the delete icon next to a custodian name in the panel. A confirmation dialog appears to prevent accidental deletions. Once confirmed, the custodian is permanently removed from the case.

Deleting a custodian does not delete the files that were assigned to it. Those files stay in the case and remain available for review. The only change is that the association between those files and the deleted custodian is removed. If those files were also assigned to other custodians, those assignments stay intact.

In legal review workflows, document preservation is critical. Removing a custodian should never result in data loss. If you need to reorganize files afterward, assign them to a different custodian using any of the methods in assigning files.

Viewing file assignments

To see which custodians are assigned to a specific file, open the Document Details dialog. The details panel displays assigned custodians alongside other metadata like tags, dates, and file type.

You can also view assignments from the custodian perspective. In the Custodians panel, each entry shows the number of linked files. Clicking a custodian expands its details to show the list of assigned files, letting you audit assignments at a glance.

Permissions

Renaming and deleting custodians requires editor or admin access. Members with read-only access can view the custodian list and file counts but can't make changes. This keeps custodian management under the control of team leads and case administrators.

Frequently asked questions

Does deleting a custodian delete the associated files?
No. Deleting a custodian only removes the entry and its file associations. All files remain in the case and are available for review. Assignments to other custodians aren't affected.
Can I undo a custodian deletion?
Deletion is permanent. If you accidentally delete a custodian, you can recreate one with the same name and reassign the files. However, the original association history won't be restored.
How do I see all files for a specific custodian?
Open Case Settings, go to the Custodians tab, and click the custodian to expand their file list. You can also filter the document browser by custodian to see assigned files in context.
Can I merge two custodians into one?
There's no one-click merge feature currently. To consolidate, assign all files from one custodian to the other using multi-select, then delete the empty custodian.

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