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Legal & forensic

Data recovery for legal practices.

When a case-file server fails or a vital drive gives out mid-matter, you need the data back quickly — and dealt with in a way that keeps privilege intact and stands up in court. Working from Guildford, our legal data recovery serves solicitors and chambers throughout Surrey and beyond — worked in-house, under NDA, using logged custody records and forensically sound methods. Your clients' data stays within Britain.

48-hour diagnostic, free
In-house handling
Most jobs: no fix, no fee
// in short

Privileged data, handled correctly.

Fee-earners' laptops, drives and case-file servers — recovered by our own team, under NDA, with logged custody records and court-ready handling whenever evidence is at stake.

Chain of custody
Documented
NDA
Standard, no charge
Court-admissible
Forensically sound
In-house
Never outsourced
// what we recover

The legal data we recover.

Be it a chambers file server or a partner's dead laptop, we recover it on our own bench and keep it privileged throughout.

01

Case-file servers & RAID

Document- and practice-management systems — NetDocuments, iManage, SOS, Proclaim — together with matter archives on failed RAID arrays and servers, recovered from imaged member disks and reassembled offline.

02

Fee-earners’ laptops

A laptop that refuses to boot, its drive still holding privileged documents, emails and drafts — imaged read-only and recovered without changing a single file, the original metadata preserved.

03

Email & deleted files

Deleted emails and documents retrieved for disclosure and e-discovery — out of OST and PST archives, Exchange EDB stores and unallocated space — recovered items carved and dated.

04

Forensic & evidence

Court-ready recovery worked on a write-blocked, hash-verified image with a logged chain of custody, for litigation and investigations — performed so a second examiner could reproduce the findings.

05

Encrypted drives

BitLocker and other encrypted volumes, opened where the recovery key or credentials are available — the drive is imaged first and the copy decrypted; strong encryption we don't break.

06

Backups & archives

Archived matters, external media and old backup drives that have stopped reading.

See also: Forensic recovery · Servers · RAID · Encrypted drives.

// confidentiality & privilege

Privilege and confidentiality, preserved.

Client data is treated to a standard that honours legal professional privilege at every stage.

For every legal client, NDAs are signed as standard at no cost.
Handled solely by our own in-house engineers, your matter data is never outsourced.
On the ICO register (No. ZC173784); the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 both met.
At no stage does your data leave the UK.

More on our data handling: Data security & confidentiality.

// chain of custody

A logged chain of custody.

Where data may become evidence, the manner of handling matters as much as the recovery itself. We record each device’s receipt, handling and return, with drives imaged read-only to leave the original untouched, and forensically sound methods keep the recovery defensible. Documentation of the process can go to the court, the opposing side or your client, and data can come back in a disclosure-ready format where required.

// how it works

How it runs for legal teams.

A secure path from breakdown through to a verified, privileged handover.

01

Get in touch

Reach us by phone or email with the fault — we'll point out the safest next step.

02

Free diagnostic

Bring the device in or post it insured; we diagnose the fault and confirm what's recoverable.

03

Written quote

Before any chargeable work begins, a fixed written price and a turnaround.

04

Recover & verify

Recovery happens in-house; we confirm the results and return them on new encrypted media or via secure download.

For a RAID or server: extract the disks, tag each by its bay position, and send the drives alone — each is imaged read-only and the array reassembled virtually, leaving your data untouched.
Up against a court deadline? Let us know when you make contact and we'll fast-track the job with a realistic turnaround stated up front.

More sectors we serve: Finance · Healthcare · Business & enterprise · University & research.

// sending your device in

Two easy steps.

Send your device in for a free diagnostic and tell us a bit about what happened — an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before any work begins.

1

Send us your device

Recovering your data starts with getting the device to us. Pack it securely, slip your contact details inside, and send it in — once the free diagnostic is done, we confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.

How to pack it
  • Box the device up in a small, sturdy carton or a padded envelope.
  • You can leave out caddies, cables and power supplies — none of them are needed for the recovery.
  • Pop your details inside — name, address, phone and email, on a slip of paper or via our shipping form — and seal it up.
Post toGuildford Data Recovery
Building 2, Ground Floor, Guildford Business Park
Guildford GU2 8XH
Shipping formPDF · print & include with your devicePDF ↓

Sending it by post? We'd suggest a tracked, insured service. Prefer to drop it in? You're welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just pack the device as above first.

2

Need more information?

After a little more detail first? Complete the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send a custom quote.

Every enquiry is reviewed personally by an engineer — we normally reply inside 30 minutes during the day. Rather phone? 01483 901310.

Thanks — your message is in.

We'll reply shortly. Anything urgent, call 01483 901310.

// faq

Frequent questions.

Quick answers to what we're asked most.

Yes. An NDA covers every legal client at no extra charge; the work is done entirely in-house by our own engineers; and with ICO registration and GDPR compliance behind us, nothing you send leaves the UK.

Yes. The receipt, handling and return of each device is logged, drives are imaged read-only so the original stays untouched, and process documentation can go to the court, the other side or your client.

Our methods are forensically sound: behind a hardware write blocker the original drive is imaged so it never alters, that image is hash-checked against the source, and only the copy is touched — receipt, handling and return all documented to keep the chain of custody intact.

Frequently, yes — much depends on the device and whether anything has since overwritten the data. We can bring back deleted emails, documents and files and hand them over ready for disclosure or e-discovery.

We run Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm; it's not round-the-clock, but anything on a legal deadline takes priority. Three or four working days covers most recoveries, and often less.

That depends on the device: single-drive recovery from £300, RAID or NAS from £500, and forensic work — where a court-ready, documented process applies — from £800. All plus VAT, after a free diagnostic and a written quote.

Yes — from our Guildford base we handle legal recovery for solicitors and chambers throughout Surrey and beyond. Drop devices at the Guildford Business Park point by appointment, or post them fully insured from anywhere in the country; your data stays in Britain the whole way.

// case data at risk?

Case server down mid-matter? Let’s protect your data.

Get in touch for a free diagnostic and written quote — NDA in place, work kept in-house, custody logged wherever it's called for.