Avoiding eDiscovery Nightmares: 10 Ways CEOs Can Sleep Easier

Hidden away in corporate databases are some nasty ticking time bombs.

Nonetheless, few companies think much about the risks of electronic discovery until they face serious litigation. But there are ways for you to avoid the substantial costs and risks from “eDiscovery” before you get hit with lawsuit-related fishing expeditions – and after you get served.

Counting down David Letterman style, here are 10 things you can do to address the risks in electronic discovery:

•#10: Less is more. Day-to-day efficiencies and litigation preparedness can ensue when an organization develops and implements a “Records Retention” policy and program. As the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 2005 in the Arthur Andersen case, a “retention” policy is actually a destruction policy, designed to keep information from getting into the hands of others, including the Government. So routine disposition of old stale, unneeded and duplicative electronically stored information is the first objective. Having less information and knowing what the company has – and where – should enable more effective operations. An added benefit is shrinkage of the data set subject to processing – and possibly to exposure to an adversary – in response to a future lawsuit, a non-party subpoena in someone else’s lawsuit or a government inquiry.

•#9: Sing Kumbaya: In developing the appropriate parameters of an effective, defensible retention/destruction program, make sure that folks from the Legal and IT Departments collaborate. If the key in-house lawyer or outside counsel is from Mars and the essential IT leader is from Venus, then use an interplanetary translator to help develop litigation-preparedness program. Then everyone can gets together and harmonize on the same tune.

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Source: blogs.forbes.com
By: Eric Savitz