You’re heading out for a meeting with a client when suddenly you realize you can’t find an important document. Did it get deleted or simply misplaced? Scenarios like this are one example why Baker & Hostetler attorneys Judy Selby and James Sherer are urging firms and others in the legal profession to get their data houses in order. In a blog posted in Information Security on the firm’s website they discuss “Information Governance.”
Selby and Sherer argue data security concerns, privacy, compliance and e-discovery costs are just some of the reasons that sound policies to efficiently manage information must be in place. Their key points:
Policy must be consistent with “enterprise-wide strategic and business goals,” they say. It should include “all relevant stakeholders and take into account the enterprise’s organization and culture, legal/regulatory concerns, business operations and technology.”
Special data challenges like the retention of personal health information or the management of streaming social media data must be addressed.
Most data likely has no business value. Implement a defensible deletion plan guided by considerations, such as the effect of legal holds, regulatory and compliance requirements etc.
Include guidelines for management of retained information and eliminate redundancies, creating classification and organizational systems so things can be retrieved quickly.
No comments:
Post a Comment