The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/116777
Diving Into the Drives: Our File-Sharing Fix and new (structured) environments. We needed a structure that allowed us to quickly determine materials that relate to a client or matter. Resources: The devil can be in the details, and those details often are gathered by a team of individuals. Although sometimes it can be difficult to determine key parties that must be at the table at the planning and design stages, open and clear communications regarding goals and objectives can help mitigate this issue. Ideally, the project manager will have a depth of experience in both information management principles and technology operations. This combined skill set proved critical to the various members of IT and records as they performed tasks such as setting up the file space, developing the process and offering hands-on assistance to end users who needed help organizing materials. System Configuration The principle of our design is best captured by a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." In our new environment, we established three main data classifications: 1. Home Directories. Personal home directories were the first to be moved from local file-shares. Focusing on these first provided some quick wins and freed up a significant amount of space. This also afforded us an opportunity for additional cleanup by weeding out and deleting content for former employees that no longer required retention. Careful planning to map the drives was necessary, and ensuring appropriate security was applied was an important consideration. We also decided on the following: • All folders were named by network ID. Be mindful of the need to audit, control and report. Implementation: A conscious decision was made to "stop the bleeding" in the legacy environment and start anew. Communications and training focused on the "how to," and they explained "why" the change was necessary — and ultimately beneficial. While it was our goal to add structure to our file-share environment, we were sensitive to the ease-of-use appeal that existed in our legacy environment. Achieving the right balance between structure and flexibility (to avoid undue frustration or disruption) required endorsement from management and buy-in from support teams. Recognizing that we could ultimately apply life cycle management and make key decisions about the data with only the client/matter name and number, we decided to establish a process in which our service desk, upon request from an end user, would create top-level folders. As an added advantage, implementing this process also allowed us to check for and apply any ethical walls and security to the folders. Once the folders were created, an entry was made in our records management system so retention of this content could be applied consistently with other related information that might reside in our core systems. Transition: While new content was being stored in the new, consolidated environment, the old, legacy file-shares could not be shut down or ignored arbitrarily. Information related to active matters was still being accessed frequently. It was important that end users be able to get their work done and not experience any interruptions. • All folders were secured, full access given to only the user/ owner of that network ID. • All folders were in one large list (in alpha/numeric order), with no separation by office. • A new security group for domain admins was created. This group was a small subset of the service desk staff with full rights to the environment for creation, deletion and maintenance. 2. Client Data. Client-related content is structured under the common share. It was our desire to only regulate and control the creation of the client-/matter-level folder(s). Beneath the matter level, end users can organize their content in a way that best suits their needs. Additionally, we decided that: • The top two levels of folders can only be created by the service desk members who are part of the domain admin group. • To ensure consistency, the top-level folder name (client) will be named with the six-digit client number, including leading zeros and the first 15 letters of the client name. • The second-level folder name (matter) will be the six-digit matter number, including leading zeros and the first 25 letters of the matter name. • End users can create any number of subfolders below the second-level (matter) folder that the system allows. • For ease of application and consistency across core data repositories, security on the folder will match the iManage workspace security. This approach enforces ethical walls, specific security or other client/matter needs. • Folders will not be created for personal use. Peer to Peer 109