The Case for Regular Legal Maintenance: A Litigation Readiness Mindset for Modern Health Care Organizations

Health care organizations operate under constant scrutiny from government regulators and the threat of potential whistleblowers.

Even in a time of government downsizing, the Trump administration has consistently publicized its intent to pursue vigorous prosecutions under the False Claims Act. And, according to U.S. Department of Justice annual fraud statistics, of the 455 new health care-related fraud matters in FY2024, 370 (or more than 81 percent) were filed by whistleblowers. On top of that, data security risks are becoming, potentially, an even greater threat. Put mildly, litigation exposure is a daily reality for health care organizations. Yet, one of the most common challenges organizations face during a legal crisis is not the merits of the inquiry but operational readiness.

When a subpoena arrives or an investigation begins, the very first hurdle is rarely legal strategy. Instead, it is organizational: Who internally has access to the information needed to respond with authority? Where is information stored? What is our retention policy? How long will it take to assemble defensible records? These should be simple questions. Too often, they are not. While health care organizations routinely invest in compliance programs, workforce safety, and quality systems, legal infrastructure—the ability to respond confidently to litigation, government inquiries, or high-stakes events—often receives far less attention.

Legal Maintenance: A Business Imperative, Not a Luxury

Savvy health care organizations must invest in regular legal maintenance—a structured, recurring review of internal systems, policies, data governance, and response protocols designed to ensure operational readiness. Like commercial pilots conducting a thorough pre-flight inspection, in-house legal, compliance, and/or operational departments should routinely review policies and protocols before they are ever tested, especially as employee handbooks age, policies fall behind evolving regulations, technology outpaces data retention practices, and internal knowledge is lost through natural turnover. Proactive review not only promotes preparedness, but it also helps organizations identify and remediate issues long before they become costly problems.

For that reason, dusty policy binders alone are insufficient. At a minimum, every organization should maintain an annual roster of internal stakeholders along with the “short list” of outside legal counsel and experts who are responsible for specific areas that include:

• Litigation and/or government inquiry response and legal holds
• IT and electronic data preservation, document retention, and forensic data extraction
• Org structure / internal reporting systems
• HR, employment relations / issues and disputes
• Compensation evaluation
• Financial data and accounting reports
• Security incident and data breach response
• Legal/regulatory compliance
• Public relations crisis management

Crisis Response Begins Long Before the Crisis

A critical period in responding to any subpoena, investigation, preservation request or demand letter is often the first few hours. The right early actions can achieve the following:

• Calm markets, directors, and employees;
• Set the tone and shape of the opposing party’s or the government’s perception of the organization (and, where applicable, the government’s view of cooperation);
• Influence litigation posture; and
• Preserve critical evidence.

Opposing counsel and judges also recognize that a prompt and accurate response is a telltale sign of a prepared organization and a solid defense. Organizations that struggle to identify the right points of contact or authorization channels during the immediate response lose valuable time and credibility.

In contrast, experienced legal teams know exactly who to collaborate with and how to securely preserve and acquire digital evidence, such that the response is a natural reflex. This proficiency enables the legal team to focus on crafting arguments, preparing witnesses, and advancing litigation. Routine legal maintenance builds operational muscle memory—ensuring readiness when it matters most.

Is Your Organization Ready?

In today’s complex and fast-paced landscape, preparedness is key. The following questions are designed to assess your company’s readiness to respond. Can your leadership team immediately answer the following questions?

• Who oversees legal holds at your company, and where is the template located?
• Who handles electronic data preservation and document and data retention at your company?
• How fast can you collect emails, instant messages, or text messages for litigation? Will it require vendor engagement?
• Who are the key contacts for major data maintained by the organization, such as sales data, claims data, purchasing data, etc.?
• Which outside counsel, vendors, and public relations experts are pre-cleared for emergency engagement?
• When was your last litigation response exercise, and did you debrief what went right and what could be improved?

If your team hesitates while answering any of these questions, then your organization may be at risk—not of wrongdoing, but of being unprepared.

Next Steps

Virtually all institutions that operate in the health care industry would benefit from a legal maintenance assessment or the development of a Litigation Response Program to ensure coordinated, efficient action during a crisis. Well-run organizations recognize that waiting for a crisis to expose weaknesses can be costly and damaging. Instead, these organizations proactively identify risks, strengthen their legal infrastructure, and prepare their teams in advance of any emergency.

A Legal Inspection Checklist (Legal Inspection Checklist) offers a practical, diagnostic framework to evaluate whether a company’s legal infrastructure is crisis-ready—or in need of urgent review and improvement. The checklist can help pinpoint gaps in data management, policy updates, stakeholder readiness and communication channels before a crisis occurs. If you identify areas where your organization may be lacking, or simply want to ensure your current processes are optimal, consider engaging in a formal legal maintenance review. If you have questions about legal maintenance assessments, or need assistance developing a comprehensive Litigation Response Program, please reach out to the authors of this blog post who can assist in evaluating your current state, identifying vulnerabilities, and building a resilient framework that keeps your organization prepared for whatever challenges may arise.