Digital White Papers

45 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT How Information Governance Initiatives Create Sustainable Cost Containment existing inventory. Enacting final disposition on closed maers is the unavoidable solution. Geing collective buy-in from risk management and practice group leaders will result in an informed policy that is reasonable in the eyes of aorneys and other timekeepers. Creating an aggressive policy with the goal of rapidly reducing inventory might not be a practical approach; the objective is to work within the firm's risk tolerance and practice group processes. Again, more important than the policy is having the tools to manage the process. Today's firms need a solution that goes beyond running reports for retention-eligible files and maers. An effective solution should include built-in retention capabilities that streamline the process for disposition reviewers and IG staff. When a retention manager can kick off the notification process, send reminders, manage approvals and streamline the process for requesting files for review, it frees records staff from their email inboxes while providing a clear trail of decisions made on each file. Reducing the excessive costs associated with offsite storage accounts is a great way for firms to increase profitability while simultaneously reducing risk. To reduce spending on storage of client-maer files without cyclically renegotiating price schedules and contract terms, IG professionals must look at the total picture, not just compare price schedules. Engaging senior management will create a holistic picture of the firm's strategic goals, which facilitates a conversation regarding cost-effective use of space and file storage. This allows IG professionals to work with practice group leaders to determine the official file of record and move toward reliance on the document management system. Understanding the firm's goals and the needs of each practice group allows firms to advocate for beer contract terms, effective price schedules and incentives to promote final disposition. Implementation of a robust and modern records solution that can support and manage firm processes will be the single most important tool to reduce storage volumes. The cost per cubic foot of storage maers far less than the sheer number of cubic feet you are using to store files. Taking steps now to institute a strong information governance policy and smart steps to containing costs will relieve your firm of excess spending on physical records storage. ILTA JOHN ZAHRADNICK John Zahradnick, Project Manager for InOutsource, assists the company's law firm clients with information governance and cost-containment services. He focuses on leveraging records management processes and policy development to create sustainable cost-containment strategies within the information governance framework. Skilled in projects both large and small, John's experience includes offsite storage contract renegotiations, office moves and process and policy development initiatives. Contact him at johnzahradnick@inoutsource.com.

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