Consider this a public service announcement. Better yet, a heads-up on something you should be speaking with your clients about.
NPR ran a story this morning about document retention and the cost it adds to litigation. Among the highlights of the story:
- Ten years ago, a case with 300,000 pages of documents was huge.
- Today, a case with the electronic equivalent of 3,000,000 pages is the norm.
- Some companies have installed proactive filters to catch troublesome emails before anyone files suit.
- One out of four companies does not have a system in place for organizing electronic documents.
The impact of these facts on any given lawsuit is huge.
Document and information retention has become a big deal. One resource identified in the story was ARMA, which may mean something like Association of Records Management Administrators or something (the web site does not say what it means). But the name issue notwithstanding, the web site is chock full of useful information and links that anyone looking at a records management issue will find useful.