Digital White Papers

42 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT How Information Governance Initiatives Create Sustainable Cost Containment files. Geing their validation early will help practice group leaders feel more confident about relying on the electronic content. Have honest discussions about the integrity of client data retained by the firm, allowing risk managers to determine acceptable risk tolerance for final disposition and eventual destruction of files. In addition, outside counsel guidelines on risk should be considered alongside firm guidelines. By including working knowledge of the policies set forth by outside counsel, firms can bring to light daily practices that might violate these agreements. Working with leaders in different practice areas within the firm allows for the inclusion of client engagement guidelines. Involving decision-makers from practice groups also fosters a sense of cooperation that will improve the implementation of final disposition projects. Office Space Planning Other than approving budgetary numbers and contract terms, the role of the C-suite is oen overlooked during the cost containment process. Engaging the C-suite in discussions around the firm's strategic goals is a necessary step in creating a well-informed policy. Space planning assessments are huge opportunities to reduce spending. An office space planning assessment is an all-too-oen overlooked component of cost containment and IG initiatives. Work with the C-suite to flesh out what the firm's goals are in the coming years for office space, especially in top-dollar real estate districts like New York City. Are you still keeping closed or inactive files in a high- density file room on a floor different from your lawyers? While that space might be cheaper than your prime office space, the price tag can still be hey. There are many questions to ask related to space planning: » How many linear feet of shelving are assigned to each aorney? » How much assigned space is utilized? » How old are the files occupying those shelves? » What do those shelving units add to the cost of office space? The data sources and reports required to perform this analysis will come from several diverse sources, presenting a perfect use case for an analytics soware solution. Determine what your firm is paying for real estate space occupied by physical files and compare it to the cost of offsite storage; you might find that onsite space is more costly than storing client-maer files offsite. If you decide to shut down the onsite storage space, plan carefully with your storage vendor. Seing a consistent pickup and delivery schedule with your vendor will allow for timely delivery of files lawyers request for review. Boxes can usually be ordered in the aernoon and received midmorning without incurring excessive rush charges, and clearly communicating delivery time frames and service parameters will help set expectations with legal assistants and aorneys. Engaging practice group leaders will help you understand the workflows and needs of each practice area so you can develop delivery service-level agreements with your vendor. The goal is not to dictate to shareholders or partners how best to manage files during client engagement but to determine what is most practical for long-term storage and review.

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