E-Discovery and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

If someone sues your company, discovery will involve e-mails, not just a paper-trail. Is your business prepared for that?

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) govern the activities of all US federal civil courts. They contain discovery requirements that any company must satisfy when it is the subject of a civil action, such as an employment discrimination lawsuit or an intellectual property dispute.

 

FRCP Updated
 
The FRCP have been amended and updated to take account of electronic information. Attorneys can no longer just throw individual E-Discovery requests ‘over the wall’ to the IT department. Indeed, the pitfalls associated with E-Discovery represent one of the greatest risks that organizations face in litigation today. If a defendant fails to produce e-mail evidence when required, the courts will assume that this evidence has been willfully destroyed or withheld.
 
Records management professionals, IT personnel, compliance experts and general counsel all need to work together to develop a comprehensive framework for handling E-Discovery requirements.
 
This pocket guide provides expert advice on how to build such a framework within your organisation in order to assess and to manage the risks associated with E-Discovery.