The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/116777
lessons learned 3. Administrative Data. We felt it important to segregate data associated with firm-related activities and administrative departments. Beneath the top-level folder, "Admin_Data," are folders associated with each department. Due to the decentralized nature in which many of our administrative departments operate, a subfolder was added for each office under each departmental folder. In summary: • The top two levels of folders can only be created by the service desk members who are part of the domain admin group. • The top department folder is available to firmwide departments. • The office folder is limited to local department members. • End users can create any number of subfolders allowed by the system below the second-level (office) folder. Beneath the matter level, end users can organize their content in a way that best suits their needs. Making It Happen In addition to our high-level strategy, here are some factors that contributed to the project's success: • We started with the easy things. We began with the home directories because they were the most straightforward, easy to identify and presented additional opportunities for data remediation by reconciling the directories against a list of former employees. Home directories for active employees were moved to the new environment. Content for former employees was deleted, and any information deemed to be important for retention was moved to iManage. Home directories were moved over a period of time, but in a structured, strategic manner. One local set was robocopied to the new environment. Once the copy was confirmed and a deletion performed, the switch was flipped 110 Peer to Peer to allow individual computers to seamlessly route to the new server space. Legacy home directories were left in place for 30 days and then deleted. • Efforts to clean up existing file-shares and develop a new environment and process were connected with the rollout of matter centricity in iManage. This afforded various advantages. Our workspace design in iManage mimicked that of the new file-share environment, with end users having the flexibility to create their own choice of subfolders beneath the matter-level folder. In addition, we were able to communicate the goals and purpose of our collective efforts from a higher, more conceptual level. We were able to represent our broader goal of effectively managing all information, regardless of system or repository. The pros and cons of file-shares versus DMS were conveyed by the IT trainers and records teams as they worked with individuals to move or reorganize content. As a result, many end users were making the deliberate choice to move legacy file-share content into the DMS. • The process of requesting new folders was strategically introduced from office to office. This approach divided the overall effort into more manageable segments, utilizing shared resources more efficiently and offering an opportunity to learn and improve various parts of the process as each office transitioned. • To avoid the continued proliferation of undesirable activities in the existing, local file-share, the ability for individuals to create new top-level folders was shut down. Communication had to be proactive and clear to minimize disruption and allow end users to ask questions and express any concerns. • The local records teams worked with end users to identify and move existing, active materials to the new environment. This approach offered several benefits. Not only were the records staff already familiar with organizing and sorting information, they were most closely affiliated with the users in their office and could provide additional insights and hands-on support and reassurance throughout the process. In addition to taking action related to departed users, the local teams worked directly with all members of the office to address active information and to identify data not intuitively discernible or directly associated with an attorney or other staff member. • Even this approach left large amounts of data to sort through. Folders were further sorted and segregated by last accessed date. Folders that hadn't been accessed in one year were cordoned off to be addressed in a future phase, after action had been taken on the active materials. • As you might imagine, massive amounts of locally stored data were subject to action: move to the centralized environment,