There have been literally thousands of articles commenting on the new rules adopted by the federal courts regarding electronic documents during litigation. Most of those articles focus on the obligations of the parties and their counsel to preserve and produce relevant electronic documents to the opposition. Still other articles focus on purely legal issues such as the preservation of the attorney-client privilege and the “safe harbor” provision.

In the midst of this sound and fury, what is often ignored are the effects that this new focus on electronic documents have on the everyday operation of a business. Businesses establishing a formal document retention plan that identifies the number, location and format of relevant electronic documents will have a distinct advantage, both in litigation and in everyday affairs. Benefits of a formal program include faster access to important information, reduction in storage fees, higher productivity, fulfilled statutory and regulatory retention obligations, preservation of critical business information and enhanced organizational memory.

Sources of E-documents
There has been a great deal of focus on email, and that focus is well deserved. But some managers are not sensitive to the different sources of email. In the course of doing business, every employee with access to a computer can, and probably will, create or receive an email that would be considered relevant under the law. All of a company’s employees, from the president down to an on-site administrator, are potential creators or recipients of relevant electronic documents.

In addition to email, executives and managers must be aware of the other types of electronic documents created and received by employees. The obvious types include electronic schedules and accounting spreadsheets. Less obvious types include Word or WordPerfect documents, digital photographs, text messages, Internet websites, and even voice mail messages. Again, every computer, Blackberry, voice mail system and digital camera is a likely source of relevant and important electronic documents.

E-document Use
Less than twenty years ago, business correspondence was fairly formal, with an officer or project manager of one company writing a letter on letterhead to a peer in another company. With the advent of email, business communication has become more casual. Employees at all levels of the company regularly shoot off emails, both internally and to others outside the company, without even checking the spelling. It is easy to imagine how a superintendent’s internal e-mail to his project manager complaining about a subcontractor’s shortcomings might be harmful to the company vis-à-vis the owner should that email ever see the light of day. Without formal thought or the benefit of expression, these messages can easily be misunderstood and taken out of context.

Saving Information
The preservation and production of electronic documents in litigation is an extremely important consideration for every company’s document retention program. If the company has solid knowledge about where the relevant electronic documents are located and how far back they date, the company has a leg up in the litigation process and will realize huge cost savings in terms of litigation expenses.

Many companies still have a haphazard approach to electronic document retention – employees save emails and other electronic documents for as long as they think they need them. Most people operate under a better-safe-than-sorry approach in this regard – they save everything, including the kitchen sink, in case they ever need it again in the future. Unfortunately, the server and hard-drive space necessary to keep all of these electronic documents is costly, and overloaded servers and hard-drives can dramatically slow down a company’s computer system. A document retention policy that sets out firm guidelines as to when, how and why electronic documents are purged can save a company real time and real money.

The focus on electronic documents should not be based solely on what happens once litigation commences. Rather, managers should realize that proper planning and management of these issues can offer tremendous value to the every day operation of your business.

What You Need to Know The Impact of Electronic Documents on Everyday Business

What You Need to Know
The Impact of Electronic Documents on Everyday Business