Clients Drive Information Governance: Business Benefits Flow to Firm

A change management program was critical in getting users to change their behavior when it came to document handling. For example, long-term storage of critical information in email and network shares had long been a common practice (as with most law firms). This created information silos where the firm could not leverage that information or ensure its compliant storage with ultimate disposition per policy. For a successful program moving forward, users were required to migrate critical information into the Document Management System. Further, standardization of indexing within the Document Management System was critical for cross-user retrieval and any future disposition exercises.

The ability to locate and purge information per retention schedules therefore became the next focus. While many firms only address destruction of paper records, an effective IG program requires attacking both electronic and paper. On the electronic side, workflows were created for moving legacy information from email and network shares into the Document Management System (DMS) en masse. This required standing up third-party tools to facilitate relocating documents from numerous locations, coupled with extensive user training and the setting of milestone dates for compliance. Ultimately, official retention schedules were managed within the DMS for official electronic records, with all ancillary data locations purged per a set schedule.

For physical records, a comprehensive diagnostic revealed that the off-site storage contract did not allow the firm to destroy physical records in a cost-effective manner. Further, a complicating issue with many of the older off-site boxes was a lack of precise knowledge of their contents (due to a number of system migrations, vendor changes, acquisition of smaller firms, etc.). The firm needed a defensible plan for gaining insight into box contents in advance of destroying those contents per retention schedules. The consultants utilized their industry-wide expertise to negotiate a new off-site storage contract that allowed the firm to have the selected service provider review the contents of the boxes, and then, if allowed per the retention schedule, destroy. The firm will be able to conduct this review-and-destroy, and still realize savings (versus simply storing all materials indefinitely as had been the firm's practice).

Future-Proofing IG

For these process improvements to be sustained and lasting, the firm's leadership understood that streamlining firm-wide protocols was central to successful implementation. The standardization of tool sets, promotion of the correct user behavior, and the enforcement of methods for purging all ancillary data stores were recommended. Additionally, an extensive change management program was put in place to address user behavior, workflow, and the integrated use of systems.

By the end of the process this firm had implemented an information governance program that allowed for defensible management of all information assets regardless of media or location. This ushered in uniform user behavior integrated with the firm's technology system to create less paper and send minimal paper off-site in the future. The firm continues to draw down on physical off-site records in a cost-effective manner, with the ultimate goal to be out of the off-site storage business in the next 10 years.

Delivering on all client needs is the top priority for law firms — compliance with Outside Counsel Guidelines has become an indispensable part of meeting those needs. Processes to make sure that the clients' documents are organized, that nonpublic data is secured and purged where necessary, all while instilling a firm-wide culture of adherence to best practices, combine to alleviate inefficiencies and trim bottom-line costs. The firm has aligned its users' behavior with the use of supporting systems and adherence to policy in order to achieve the necessary visibility and compliance for all information, electronic and physical, while still realizing savings over the next 10 years by drawing down on the hard costs related to physical storage.

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Stephen Cole is Director, Client Technology & Strategy at Mattern & Associates and can be reached at [email protected]. He has a successful track record with over 20 years of expertise in consulting for large law firms. Cole gained his experience both on the service provider and law firm sides including as the Vice President over the legal business unit at Pitney Bowes Management Services, a technology specialist at an AmLaw 50 firm, and most recently, a Regional Vice President of Ipro Tech, an advanced e-discovery solution.