Delete Projects and Databases

When a case has closed and you don't expect to need it again, you can delete it. 

If there is a possibility that your case might reactivate, Everlaw Archive™ or suspension might be a better fit than deletion. Read Options to Deactivate a Case to learn more about these options and decide which is right for your case.

This article describes how to delete individual projects and entire databases on Everlaw. Deletion is immediate and irreversible, so it's very important that you have exported and downloaded all the data you want to preserve, whether for future access or to meet data retention requirements. 

Before you delete, learn more about exporting projects in our Export a Project article.

Overview of closing a case on Everlaw

Closing a case should happen in three steps:

1. When you're ready to close your case, you initiate a project-level export for each project within the database.
   You may also complete exports of additional data and work product that are not part of a project export.
   Optionally, you can have Everlaw manage the export for you.
2. Once the exports complete, you pull the exported data for long-term storage.
3. Once you have pulled all the data from each project, you delete the entire database. Deletion is permanent and destructive of everything contained within it, so it's important to make sure you have backed up the data prior to deletion. The deletion process is described in this article.

Requirements

• Organization Admins can delete databases and projects from the Organization home's Projects & Users tab
  •  If a database has Organization Admin access disabled, Organization Admins need to be a user on at least one project in a database and have Database Admin permissions to delete a project within that database.
• Users who are both Database Admins and Project Admins can delete databases and projects from the Database Settings page

Delete a project

Individual partial projects can be deleted without deleting the entire database. You might do this if a project was created for a workstream that has concluded, or if the project was made in error.

Deleting a partial project (or a complete project if there are multiple complete projects within the database) has no effect on your billing; the purpose of deleting a partial project should be to maintain data hygiene and prevent users from working on a project that shouldn't be accessed.

To delete a project:

1. Open the Permanently delete project dialog. How you do so depends on your role and permissions
   • [Organization Admins]
     1. Go to Organization home  > Projects & Users tab.

     2.  In the Projects tab of the Organization home, find the project you plan to delete. In the More column for that project, select the three-dot menu, then Delete project. 
        
        
        This opens the Permanently delete project dialog.

        Note

        If a database has Organization Admin access disabled, you need to be a user on at least one project in that database and have Database Admin permissions to delete the project.

   • [Database Admins] 
     1. Go to Project Management > Database Settings.
     2. In the Actions column for the project you plan to delete, select the three-dot menu, then Delete project.
        
        This opens the Permanently delete project dialog.
2. Confirm the information in the Permanently delete project dialog. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.
   
   When you're ready, select Continue.
3. To confirm that you have either already exported the project, or that you do not plan to export the project, select the I have already exported and downloaded this project, or I do not want to export and download this project checkbox.
4. [Optional] If you have a court order to purge all backups, select Purge all backups immediately to adhere to court order.
5. To further confirm your intention to permanently delete the project and all review work: In the Type "DELETE"' below to confirm box, type DELETE in all capital letters.
   
6. When you're ready, select Delete. This starts the deletion process. 

Delete a database

Deleting a database deletes all projects, documents, work product, and any other associated information.

To delete a database:

1. Open the Permanently delete database dialog. How you do so depends on your role and permissions
   • [Organization Admins]
     1. Go to Organization home  > Projects & Users tab.

     2. In the Projects tab of the Organization home, find the database you plan to delete. In the More column for that database, select the three-dot menu, then Delete database.
        
        This opens the Permanently delete database dialog.

        Note

        If OA access is disabled, you need to be a user on at least one project in that database and have Database Admin permissions to delete the database.

   • [Database Admins] 
     1. Go to Project Management > Database Settings.
     2. Select Database actions, then Delete database.
        
        This opens the Permanently delete database dialog.
2. Confirm the information in the Permanently delete database dialog. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.
   
   When you're ready, select Continue.
3. To confirm that you have either already exported the projects within the database, or that you do not plan to export the projects, select the I have already exported and downloaded my projects, or I do not want to export and download my projects checkbox.
4. [Optional] If you have a court order to purge all backups, select Purge all backups immediately to adhere to court order.
5. To further confirm your intention to permanently delete the database, enter the reason you are deleting the database in the Enter the reason for permanent deletion box.
   

When you're ready, select Delete. This starts the deletion process.