On August 18, 2025, the New York Law Journal published an article by Freshfields lawyers titled “Hyperlinked Documents: Modern Attachments or Beyond the Scope of Proportional Discovery?” The article discussed an emerging question in civil discovery: Do you have to produce hyperlinked documents in discovery?
Why This Matters Now
Traditionally, emails and their attachments are produced together in litigation—think of them as “parent” (the email) and “child” (the attachment). It’s a clear, easy-to-follow process: what you sent is what you produce. But collaborative workspaces and other platforms often incorporate hyperlinks instead of traditional attachments, which may create new challenges in discovery. For example, hyperlinked documents may live outside the platform, be updated after the message is sent, or even disappear if the underlying file is deleted or changed. These are just a few of the potential pitfalls of which in-house and external counsel should be aware.
The New York Law Journal article expands upon these issues and provides practical guidance for lawyers and organizations that may encounter this issue now or in the future. The bottom line is that, at least for now, courts have not required companies to produce hyperlinked documents in the same way as traditional attachments. If your business uses Teams, SharePoint, or similar collaborative platforms, however, you may wish to consider these practical tips:
- Know where your data lives. Documents might be on SharePoint, OneDrive, or elsewhere—don’t assume they’re just in your chat or email app.
- Establish clear policies. Decide how you want to handle hyperlinks and version histories, so you’re prepared if litigation arises.
- Monitor legal developments. Courts and legal organizations like The Sedona Conference continue to update their guidance—stay informed so you aren’t caught flat-footed. See The Sedona Conf. Working Grp. On Elec. Document Retention & Prod., Commentary on Discovery of Collaboration Platforms Data, The Sedona Conference (Apr. 2025).
