electronic discovery

Find your way on e-Discovery

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

If you haven't yet confronted e-Discovery, you will soon. Every CIO must be the guardian at their company to make sure that electronic documents can be turned over in any kind of court case. It's a painful requirement that went into effect a year ago. And most CIOs know little about how to manage electronic documents in compliance with federal court rules. In the old days, companies could conduct a physical search of a mound of paper documents. But today, most documentation being sought is online. And every CIO must make sure they can respond quickly to a request. That means making sure the right tools are available to find the documents and to turn them over. And while it's all about document management, it's also about knowing what your company is responsible for turning over and doing it quickly. Some attendees at a recent electronic discovery conference said they don't trust all the technology. And how could they? Some of it is so new that it hasn't been tested under stressful circumstances. The real question is whether you are ready for this 21st century change--or do you plan to scramble when you get an order for e-documents pronto?

For a roadmap on e-Discovery:
- See this Infoworld article

E-discovery and the CIO

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Electronic discovery is a firm's obligation to produce all of the documents or information in its possession--including documents that exist only in electronic form--in the event of initiated or threatened litigation. It is important to recognize that in today's business climate, litigation is not always a last-resort. Increasingly, it is becoming an active strategy of the business and is being critically assessed, based on its potential to generate a positive return on investment. In-house counsel should play an important role in information access and management. Managing the content of information should not be ignored. Pay attention to the content of the information being protected. Failure to do so can expose the company to substantial litigation risk. A systematic campaign of education and compliance monitoring is a fundamental element of effective corporate policy around information management. Finally, litigation needs can present a fundamental departure from otherwise highly effective information strategies. Don't try to generate a one-size-fits-all strategy to accommodate the often unique demands presented by litigation. Give proactive consideration to potential litigation when developing information processes.

Learn more about e-discovery and the CIO:
- read the article at CIO Canada

ALSO:
- read this on dealing with e-discovery
- and this on heading lawsuits off at the pass

Dealing with e-Discovery

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:01:39 -0400

New federal rules regarding electronic discovery have changed the game for storage and records retention, as well as for ongoing litigation support within the company. These rules will only make things harder for CIOs, but by understanding both the positive and negative consequences, you can mitigate the fallout. The key is being able to find records requested by the court during a lawsuit quickly; if you can't, your company will be liable for fines or sanctions. To deal with these new rules, create an eDiscovery leader within the organization whose role it is to fully understand how these legal imperatives effect ongoing records retention policies and storage initiatives within the organization; create and publish a records retention policy and enforce it, form a committee comprised of IT, Legal, Finance and Human Resources representatives, whose job it is to audit the holding and elimination of data, and to identify new platforms that extend existing document management, records retention and messaging applications.

To read more about preparing for the new eDiscovery laws:
- read the article at CIO Update

Related Articles:
CIOs and lawyers speaking the same language. Report
Heading off lawsuits at the pass. Report

Lawyers are a fact of life for CIOs

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

The recent rash of legislation governing data retention, electronic discovery, privacy, data use and abuse has created a goldmine for lawyers well-versed in IT issues. More than ever before, CIOs must interact with attorneys just to protect themselves and their companies. It's not always a pleasant experience, but it's a fact of corporate life today. There are ways to reduce your exposure to lawyers, though. One option is to outsource the management of data and compliance to an outside service provider and another is to cue up new types of software to classify data at creation, apply policies to it and to enforce it--all in one fell swoop. Yet another is to employ an internal search technology to help companies locate difficult-to-find data.

Learn more about how to avoid lawyers:
- read the column at ComputerWorld