publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/518940
ILTA WHITE PAPER: MAY 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 16 FOUR PRINCIPLES OF RESPONSIBLE E-DISCOVERY DATA MANAGEMENT are they sending you back the originals? Ask them to! Send links, not copies. Figure out the linking capabilities of your hosting platform and data storage, and train your team to send links to the original file rather than a copy. Do not forget to proactively manage the ESI kept with your vendors, including court reporters, trial technologists and experts. With clearly defined retention guidelines, you will realize the added benefit of reduced cost to the client for ongoing storage. When negotiating your vendor contract, note where the vendor is storing data, what their retention policies are and options for archiving, returning and destroying your client's ESI. You do not want to discover after the fact that the vendor retains client data beyond your client's retention or that you have to pay to have the documents destroyed or returned. PRINCIPLE OF RETENTION: "An organization shall retain its information for an appropriate time, taking into account all operational, legal, regulatory and fiscal requirements, and those of all relevant binding authorities." As litigation technology professionals, you might not have much contact with your records staff and its policies and procedures. It's time to bridge that gap. Do you know your firm's retention policy regarding client files and work product? If you don't, talk to your records manager or general counsel to see if they can provide it to you. Your firm's retention schedules might not specifically discuss client ESI, but it should give you a starting point. Familiarize yourself with your firm's standard engagement letter language if it addresses retention, disposition or the transfer of client files. Ask to see any outside counsel guidelines, especially for your key litigation clients. Clients often use outside counsel guidelines to ensure their law firms enforce retention policies. Honor your client's retention schedule, but be aware you might need to balance what your firm needs for a complete record of the engagement and what the client, or opposing parties, want you to do with their data at the close of a matter. If a client prefers that you retain all their data, perhaps using your firm as a de facto repository, get that arrangement in writing. More likely you have clients who would be shocked to hear that you're still retaining copies of files from a class action handled in 2006. Hackers target law firms as vulnerable holders of sensitive client information; any data breach will be made infinitely worse if the stolen data includes documents your client thought were destroyed years ago. Some firms store outside counsel guidelines in a central repository, so they are always easily accessible. Act to minimize the number of copies you retain: A record of a database search might only need to be the terms you used, not the results you exported. Are you converting JPGs to TIFFs because you're not producing in color anymore? Delete the JPGs after you convert them. Sometimes we retain extra copies of things because we don't know what they are, so get in the habit of placing simple readme.txt files in all your folders, explaining what the files are and why you are keeping them. If you're sending documents to a vendor for processing, Hackers target law firms as vulnerable holders of sensitive client information; any data breach will be made infinitely worse if the stolen data includes documents your client thought were destroyed years ago.