New: Enhanced Delete & Restore

LexWorkplace Release

May 16, 2025

In This Release

• New Enhanced Delete & Restore Functionality (Phase 1)

Intro to Enhanced Delete & Restore

We’re excited to announce the release of significant enhancements to the delete and restore capabilities of LexWorkplace.

Applies To

• Clients

• Matters

• Documents

• Folders

• Email

• Notes

Historically, when you delete an object in LexWorkplace (such as a Document, Email or Matter Note) that object would be marked as deleted, hidden from view (by default) and restorable indefinitely.

In 2025, we’re making significant enhancements to how deleting and restoring objects works in LexWorkplace. These enhancements will come in two phases:

Phase 1 (This Release)

Deleting objects works differently as of this LexWorkplace update. We’ll start with terminology.

Terminology

There are subtle but important terminology changes associated with this LexWorkplace update.

Historically, to “delete” an object meant to click the delete (trash) button where the object would be marked as deleted (and restorable indefinitely). Going forward, there is no such action or notion of simply “deleting” an object.

Instead, there will be three operations that a user can perform relating to the deletion objects:

Buttons + Iconography

With the change to terminology, the various icons and buttons associated with delete operations have updated. These icons should feel intuitive to new users, but long-time LexWorkplace users should take note of these changes.

How Objects Behave in the Trash Bin

An object being moved to the Trash Bin is similar, in some ways, to an object being marked as “deleted” under LexWorkplace’s prior behavior. A key change, however, is how Objects in the Trash Bin behave.

Historically, users could perform any operation on a deleted Object, including open/edit documents, edit document properties, and move deleted Objects (or Objects in a deleted Folder).

Going forward, Objects that are in the Trash Bin (Clients, Matters, Documents, Folders, Email, Notes) are restricted in terms of allowable operations/actions.

Clients in the Trash Bin

• Matters cannot be assigned to a Client in the Trash Bin

• Clients in the Trash Bin cannot be edited

Matters in the Trash Bin

• Matters in the Trash Bin cannot be edited

• Documents, Folders, Email and Matter Notes in a Matter that is in the Trash Bin cannot be opened, edited or moved

• Documents and Email cannot be uploaded/saved to a Matter that is in the Trash Bin

Documents in the Trash Bin

• Documents in the Trash Bin cannot be opened, edited or have new versions uploaded

• The properties of a Documents in the Trash Bin cannot be edited/changed

• Documents in the Trash Bin cannot be renamed, moved or duplicated

• Documents in the Trash Bin cannot be used with LexWorkplace Compare, Litera Compare or Document AI

• Documents in the Trash Bin cannot be converted to a PDF

• Documents in any folder in the Trash Bin cannot be opened, edited or have new versions uploaded

Email in the Trash Bin

• The Short Note of an Email in the Trash Bin (or a folder in the Trash Bin) cannot be changed

• Email in the Trash Bin cannot be moved

Folders in the Trash Bin

• Documents:  All rules for Documents in the Trash Bin (above) also apply to documents in a folder that has been moved to the Trash Bin.

• Email:  All rules for Email in Trash Bin (above) also apply to email in a folder that has been moved to the Trash Bin.

Additionally, folders that have been moved to the Trash Bin will appear with the trash can icon in the breadcrumbs of that Matter or Firm Documents.

Phase 2 (Coming Up)

The second phase of LexWorkplace’s Enhanced Restore & Delete functionality will be released later in Q2/Q3 of 2025. This upcoming release will include the following further enhancements to LexWorkplace restore and delete functionality.

Central Trash Bin (Screen/View)

To review, in current LexWorkplace, users can see items that have been moved to the Trash Bin by enabling "Include Items in the Trash." When this option is enabled, you'll see items moved to the Trash Bin in their original location, with the trash icon as described above.

In the upcoming "Phase 2" of LexWorkplace's Enhanced Restore & Delete functionality, there will be a central Trash Bin screen (view), where users can see all deleted objects, including Clients, Matters, Documents, Folders, Email and Notes, in one place. The Trash Bin screen will work similarly to the Recycle Bin on Windows, but with additional nuance for Clients, Matters, Documents, Email and Notes.

This functionality will be in addition to the ability to see Items in the trash as you navigate Matters and Folders, and will provide an additional, easy way to see and managed all items in the Trash Bin.

Permanent Delete

To review, in current LexWorkplace, items that are moved to the Trash Bin are recoverable indefinitely (and therefore never permanently deleted).

In the upcoming "Phase 2" of LexWorkplace's Enhanced Restore & Delete functionality, Firm Admins will have the ability to permanently delete objects (Clients, Matters, Documents, Folders, Email and Notes). When available, this operation is permanent and irreversible.

Stay Tuned

Stay tuned for the second phase of our new Enhanced Restore & Delete functionality, and other future LexWorkplace updates!