Ask any litigation support team what's taking up the most digital space, and they'll probably point you to their Relativity environment. Over time, workspaces pile up: Cases open, close, stall, and then resume. With each stage, new data enters the system, while old data quietly lingers.
That wouldn't be a problem if data were free, but it's not.
Storage in Relativity—especially in RelativityOne—isn't just about space; it's about money, performance, and risk. As legal datasets grow, firms are under increasing pressure to manage what stays live and what can be safely moved off production. Simply "closing" a Matter doesn't remove it from the environment. If a workspace remains in production, it continues to take up space, and worse, it may still be accessible to unauthorized individuals or workflows.
This guide is about getting ahead of that. You’ll learn what it actually means to archive Relativity workspaces, why so many firms struggle with it, and how to do it right—without making a mess of future audits, compliance obligations, or restores.
The word "archive" gets thrown around frequently, but it tends to be misunderstood. Archiving a Relativity workspace doesn't mean deleting it; it means removing that workspace from your production environment while retaining the ability to restore it later if necessary.
There are several ways that this can happen:
The most robust option, especially in RelativityOne, is using Relativity ARM—or Archive, Restore, Move—to fully capture and package all data, coding decisions, saved searches, and settings for archiving.
On RelativityOne, ARM integrates directly with the cloud environment, giving you more control over where archived workspaces go (e.g., nearline or cold storage), how long they're retained, and how easily they can be restored. On-prem users don't have these built-in tools, so they rely more heavily on internal workflows or third-party automation like CaseFlow, which is designed to support complete lifecycle management of Relativity data.
The key takeaway is that archiving is not just about pulling the plug; it's also a structured process that should preserve access, reduce cost, and prevent operational disruption.
If archiving were just a matter of hitting an "off" button, everyone would already be doing it. The truth is that a few critical factors make it more complex.
Let's take a real-world example, courtesy of CaseFlow: A mid-sized firm had over fifty closed cases, each with 10 to 30 GB of data, still stored in Relativity production. There was no defined point at which the workspaces should be archived, so no one was sure if the attorneys still needed them. Meanwhile, the firm was paying for 1.5 TB of unnecessary storage.
There's no one-size-fits-all answer here. But there are a few clear signs.
If a matter is fully resolved, with no active appeal or compliance hold, and hasn't been touched in six months, archive it. If the client has signed off, the workspace has no active review batches, and the data has already been produced, archive it. If your firm has already transitioned that case's materials into an offline records system or external archive, ask: Why is it still live?
You don't need a stopwatch; you need criteria. Here's a rough framework to guide decision-making:
If you check all four boxes, you're ready. If not, you're probably still in the gray zone, so don't rush, but do start preparing.
Here's what a practical, no-drama archive process might look like:
Don't just hit delete. Deleting a workspace is final; it means no recovery. Unless you're under a strict data destruction mandate, stick with archival.
Let's be honest: Manual archiving works, but only until it doesn't. You can't rely on someone remembering to clean up workspaces every quarter. You need a system.
An automated solution like CaseFlow handles the hard parts:
In a firm with over twenty active cases and dozens of closed matters, that kind of automation is the difference between proactive management and a costly backlog.
This isn't unique to Relativity, of course. Tools like Microsoft Purview and Google Vault treat archiving as part of lifecycle governance. Legal teams should expect the same control and auditability from their e-discovery stack.
Mistakes aren't merely common; they're predictable. Here are four that come up often:
Smart firms don't treat archiving as the end; they treat it as a checkpoint in a larger strategy.
Good lifecycle policies cover:
If it's everyone's job, it ends up being no one's job. Assign ownership, and make it part of your firm's operational rhythm.
Cleaning up your Relativity workspaces isn't just about saving money; it's also about running a cleaner, smarter, and more secure operation. It protects your firm, your clients, and your peace of mind.
If you're tired of chasing storage bills and guessing which matters are still "live," start with this: Put a system in place. Whether that's a manual checklist or an automated workflow through CaseFlow, it's one less thing to worry about in the long run.
Honestly, that's the kind of cleanup worth doing.
Ready to take control of your Relativity data lifecycle and eliminate unnecessary costs and wasted time? CaseFlow provides the automation that you need to proactively manage your Relativity storage, seamlessly transitioning cases through Repository, Cold Storage, and Archive based on your specific requirements. Don't let manual processes bog you down; see how CaseFlow can save your law firm time and money. Contact us today, and discover the power of automated Relativity data lifecycle management.