Originating Author: David Floyer

Originating Author: David Floyer

Experience suggests that most email managers and many CIOs are too concerned about the cost of email systems and cannot judge the risks to the business. One email manager at a Fortune 500 company argued passionately for a policy that “only emails backed up should be archived,” because it was a little cheaper to implement. This person knew emails that were deleted immediately would not be backed up and not be put in the email archive system. This line of thinking by an experienced IT professional fundamentally failed to recognize the legal exposure of not being able to definitively claim to a court that every email is archived.

A complete mindset shift is necessary by corporations to protect themselves. Technology should be used aggressively to reduce the risks to the organization. The infrastructure costs are nearly irrelevant in the business decision. Everything should be archived, and organizations should assume that instant messages, voice-mail, blackberries, and other electronically captured data are all on the table to be archived.

Management need strong processes to ensure that emails are reviewed and audited, and any exposures found and eliminated before they become a problem. HR should be actively reviewing emails to ensure compliance. Legal departments need to know of any problems before a litigant sees them or even asks for them.

The benefits of this approach is more than just reducing risk and improving legal defenses. It also relates to knowing more about litigants than they know themselves, and using the information aggressively to turn the tables.

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