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82 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 attorneys. Our latest survey (May 2022) indicates that most firms (60%) now recognize IG's potential to deliver a strategic business advantage. Yet when it comes to understanding IG goals, objectives, and strategies, only 7% of firms report a confident "pervasive awareness of IG's value". Conversely, 7% of firm management say they're not aware of a formal IG program in their firm. Meanwhile, the top third of firms by size have now designated IG as a formal function within their organization, and nearly half of firms (47%) report "emerging firm awareness". The same proportion have appointed IG staff, implemented organizational changes, and have an IG steering committee in place. At the other end of the scale, the least mature firms (20%) essentially view IG as their records and information management (RIM) program, which is fundamentally paper based. In terms of policies, we see some room for improvement. For example, while 80% of firms have established processes for handling Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs), only 27% have centralized the process and use a defined strategic position to respond to new OCGs. When looking at email management, not a single firm polled felt that they had an email policy fully backed and enforced by firm management. Only 13% of the firms think their email policy is well-executed, compliance is "good", and emails are saved to the client-matter file. Even when guidelines and procedures are clear, there are limited tools to simplify or enforce email filing. And surprisingly, 13% of firms expect email to be managed by individual users and do not have an official policy or procedure regarding mailbox management. Likewise, when it comes to Document Management Systems (DMS), none of the firms we surveyed are confident that all content is managed within defined systems. For the majority (53%), users are generally filing documents and email in the DMS and are able to search for and find content. But fewer (40%), say the use of the DMS is consistent – some staff use it while others work outside of the DMS "as it suits them". A paltry 7% of firms meet regularly with Practice Group Leads to review usage as a means to help enforce a healthy filing culture. IG process maturity To generate a metric that measures the process maturity of law firms concerning IG, we asked respondents to consider 36 IG processes and to rate their firm's execution of each on a standard 5-level maturity curve: • Level 1: Firms are aware of the need but do not have documented processes. The firm experiences ad hoc activity that is uncontrolled and reactive. • Level 2: Firms have repeatable processes, but process discipline is unlikely to be rigorous. • Level 3: Defined processes are in place and subject to some degree of ad hoc improvement over time. • Level 4: Management can identify ways to adjust and adapt the process to projects without measurable losses of quality or deviations from specification. • Level 5: Indicates optimized processes, which are subject to continual incremental improvement. How firms fared From the 2022 research, we believe firms are making solid advances in efforts to improve Information Governance. But you will see from the results that work needs to be done. It is fair to say, since the last survey (pre-pandemic) law firms have made rapid progress in their IG programs F R O M T H E T E C H S O L U T I O N S C C T

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