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Make Electronic Discovery A High Priority
January 2006

Electronic information plays an important role in litigation and regulatory proceedings. As a result, top management find themselves in a balancing act between productive paperless business practices and precautionary legal measures, faced not only with company legal issues, but complex technology issues as well.

The time to lessen the problems related to retaining, retrieving and producing electronic documents and records is before a litigation need arises. While this may seem obvious, understanding how records management systems will perform under the stress of litigation does not seem to be a high priority for corporate management. The benefits of a litigation-friendly electronic records management system include a significant reduction in time and money for document recovery, production reliability and authenticity of electronic data, greater ease in meeting discovery deadlines, more protection from unexpected surprises, and the ability to display confidence and competency throughout the process.

The way to garner these benefits is with a carefully planned and executed data management program that serves both practical business needs and future legal requirements. The system should be a balanced way to preserve as much information as is necessary for day-to-day business while satisfying future legal issues without being cost prohibitive.

In light of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the corporate scandals leading up to it, all corporations are advised to carefully plan and execute a comprehensive electronic records management system.