Document retention policies are fundamental business tools that appropriately address the creation, retention and disposition of corporate actions. The United States Supreme Court recently noted: "Document retention policies, which are created in part to keep certain information from getting into the hands of others, including the Government, are common in business . . . It is, of course, not wrongful for a manager to instruct his employees to comply with a valid document retention policy under ordinary circumstances." Arthur Andersen v. U.S., 125 S.Ct. 2129, 2135 (U.S. May 31, 2005). The failure to properly maintain and monitor a corporate records retention policy can create substantial risk for both the corporation and its employees, particularly in light of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and expanded interest in corporate conduct.

In today's corporate world, more than 90% of communications and business activities take place in an electronic environment. Current trends in pre-trial discovery also have focused on electronic communications, substantially increasing costs and risks. However, many corporate records retention programs do not adequately address the creation, management and disposition of electronic records. Therefore, it is increasingly important for companies to evaluate and consider how their records management programs impact electronic records.

Records Management Categories

The Records Management Program

Developing and implementing an effective records management program is a complicated, time-consuming task that requires a multi-faceted team of professionals committed to fully understanding the business and the types of records created by the company.

Litigation Holds

The duty to preserve materials arises when a party acquires notice or should know that the materials are relevant to an existing litigation or investigation, or to reasonably anticipated future litigation or investigation.

Emerging Technologies

Best practices for introducing new technologies suggests a great amount of due diligence. Integrating new technologies, although seeming innocent and a good business benefit, creates havoc on records management in the electronic age.