Compliant records management policies and good corporate governance go hand in hand – and represent cornerstones of overall, solid business management practices. Additionally, records retention and information management policies play an important role in mitigating your company’s legal exposure, not only in e-discovery but also in privacy compliance.
In litigation, for example, all information, not just records, is potentially discoverable. This is because parties are interested in all information that may lead to the discovery of admissible evidence that supports their case in court. In the absence of a retention policy, a party would have to produce all information in its systems that may be relevant to a case, irrespective of age of the information and even format, medium or location of storage. A sound records retention policy helps eliminate this burden.
Likewise, in privacy compliance, organizations must destroy personal information immediately after it is no longer needed. These are the mandates coming out of not only the European Union, but now in 18 U.S. states, and countless other countries around the world. A records retention schedule is the first line of defense to justify the retention of personal information that would otherwise have to be disposed to meet strict privacy compliance regulations. If systematically followed, a retention policy would preserve only official “records” of the company while eliminating all other non-records within days of creation. When litigation looms, if a retention policy is in place, the amount of potentially responsive information is limited to the records preserved pursuant to the policy. And, when a data privacy audit or protection authority comes knocking, the retention policy is used to justify why certain records must be retained as “needed” for internal purposes. If the company has systematically and uniformly followed its retention policy, it can explain the absence of all other non-records from its electronic systems. The one caveat is that once litigation is pending or contemplated, companies must override the retention policy in favor of preservation of all potentially responsive information to the subject matter of the case, irrespective of whether they are company records under the policy. This process is commonly known as litigation or legal holds. Ultimately, the responsive information in discovery would include only those records that have been preserved according to the retention policy, plus all other information placed on legal hold since learning of the pending or contemplated litigation. Isaza Law helps you define these policies, the procedures for documenting adherence to the policies, and the steps necessary to comply with the discovery process, without squandering your administrative budget. Contact us for a “no obligation” initial consultation.