When recent edits disappear from a legal case folder after a OneDrive restore, preserve the evidence and recover the required documents individually where possible. Do not assume the content is merely hidden or promise that every missing file remains recoverable.
This is an operational recovery checklist, not a decision about legal retention or admissibility. The organization’s records or legal owner should approve changes affecting preserved material.
Create a case-specific recovery inventory
Record the matter identifier, original document URL, expected revision, editor, relevant time zone and reason the version is required. Keep original records distinct from working recovery copies. A file called “final” is not enough evidence that it contains the approved wording.
Preserve current documents in an approved location outside the scope of any contemplated rollback. Limit access to the people authorized for the matter. Retain a record of who made each recovery decision; a download alone does not preserve every aspect of the source system’s history.
Choose a recovery route for each document
- For a document that still exists, inspect its available versions and compare the relevant clauses, schedules and attachments.
- For an absent document, search its original location and the appropriate recycle bin. You cannot open version history on a file that is no longer present in the listing.
- Ask the administrator to check second-stage deleted items if needed. The SharePoint recovery period is not an E5-only benefit.
- If neither route succeeds, have the responsible owner check approved backups or retained content through an authorized process.
Keep recovered candidates separately until they have been reviewed. A transcript that opens correctly but lacks its corrected page is not an accepted result. Compare the exact disputed passage and record the source version used.
Do not undo the recovery you just completed
A later broad rollback may reverse manual work performed after the first restore. Preserve those recovered copies independently before considering another operation. A legal folder does not become an isolated rollback scope simply because it is the folder currently open in OneDrive.
Have the storage owner describe all data that could be affected and obtain the required approval. If only a few documents remain wrong, a targeted recovery avoids unnecessarily disturbing unrelated case material.
Keep retention decisions separate
Do not remove a hold, shorten retention or delete original material to make the recovery easier. Ask the compliance owner to interpret applicable retention policies and labels. A protection setting is not a guarantee that every possible unsynced edit exists somewhere.
Close the incident with the document inventory, approved recovery sources, destination locations and unresolved gaps. Have the matter owner verify the content and authorized access. Avoid a blanket “all recovered” status based only on file counts or an audit event showing that a restore command ran.