The U.S. Supreme Court has approved new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for discovery of electronic documents, which have gone into effect December 1, 2006.
This means that when you are asked to produce documents in conjunction with a civil lawsuit, you must be able to produce all relevant electronic documentation as well, including such things as word processing or spreadsheet files, database records, e-mails, instant messages, and voice mails.
In the event your organization is the subject of a civil lawsuit, you must be prepared to provide the necessary information and ensure it has not been altered or deleted improperly. You need to:
• Know how all your information systems work
• Know where all copies of data are and why
• Describe data retention, preservation, and disposal processes
• Have control over data management practices
• Prevent alteration or deletion of lawsuit-related information
• Involve your IT staff in any hearings
In order to be prepared to respond to a lawsuit, you need to have the policies, procedures, and practices in place to avoid legal discovery problems and the resultant significant fines.
Lewis Creek Systems can help you establish good information retention and disposal policies, and the related backup and recovery processes, so that you won't be in the opposition's crosshairs in a lawsuit. Contact us today to ask how FRCP E-Discovery goes hand in hand with good information security practices and how we can help you establish those good practices.