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I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | I N F O R M A T I O N G O V E R N E N C E 41 In a culture of diffuse authority, auditing the results of organizational and user defined processes is critical. Come prepared with return on investment projections and an understanding of what other firms are doing. F R A M E W O R K So you have identified your firm as being generally conservative in nature. What information governance elements should you push first? Which key processes will yield the quickest wins allowing you to build momentum for more funding and support? The Law Firm Information Governance Symposium, in a recent revision to their original guideline, defined twelve important principles to a successful IG program. 1 Principles which might yield quick return in this report at a more conservative culture would include addressing retention/disposition practices, legal holds, information security, and monitoring of key processes. A more cautious approach to retention/disposition is likely in a conservative firm. Users will be concerned with not having information and would rather risk over retention. Conservative firms appreciate reliance on set authority providing an opportunity for IG wins using widely recognized statutes and regulatory authority. Appreciating security is a hallmark of conservatism. A rigorous audit of existing information security practice and infrastructure may yield small areas to address quickly while identifying longer term structural needs to incorporate into your IG plans. It's also wise to seek opportunities not requiring a significant financial investment. Are there data remediation opportunities? Can you repurpose and leverage existing staff for new tasks? Perhaps there is already technolo in house that can be used for other IG purposes. This can help you address IG issues in a conservative firm, gain momentum and build a business case for future initiatives in a safe, predictable way. In a culture of diffuse authority, auditing the results of organizational and user defined processes is critical. By doing so, you will identify success stories you can champion providing a road map for others to follow. More importantly, it will allow you to spot potentially dangerous behaviors, address them and remediate any resultant damage. I M P L I C A T I O N S What implications may result from being a conservative firm? Your organization will likely not benefit from new technologies before some of your competitors. You will need to guard against staying with existing, functional technolo past it its optimal usefulness. Information ROT and duplication may result from decentralized control of overly-conserved information. P R A C T I C A L S T E P S So where do you start? Begin with a plan matching your firm culture. Start slowly, addressing the processes above. Find a champion, in your case maybe several champions. Promote the long term plan and your expected measured and conservative outcome. Closely monitor progress, provide regular reports of success, failures and steps taken to address deficiencies. Progressive Firms: Progressive firms typically utilize newer technologies, a more open information sharing system and are P O L I T I C S O F I N F O R M A T I O N G O V E R N A N C E

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