Steps to Follow in Building a Defensible Legal Hold Strategy

A recent post by DCIG blog by the same title discusses e-discovery and the role of a defensible legal hold business process.  The blog post gives a good overview of the many dangers associated with failing to properly implement legal holds as chronicled at www.legalholds.typepad.com.  A particularly useful list of tips is reproduced below:

With these case lessons learned it is necessary to follow these steps when faced with a legal hold scenario:

• Direct communication with every source of relevant information is crucial involving all necessary key personnel in the litigation.  This should minimize the chances of documents materializing at a later date.

• Executive management must explain employee's responsibilities, convey specifics on information required, and ensure employees understand their role in the litigation.

• Companies should put in measures to monitor and follow-up with key personnel ensuring compliance with legal hold and preservation of ESI.

• Ensure processes are in place that shows a company acted in "good faith" in providing all relevant documents. Claiming ignorance about missing documents is not an acceptable defense.  

To see the original article click here: http://tiny.cc/aDW0g