Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
necessary,.you.should.create.lists.of.the.owners,.custodians,.
and.managers.of.data.and.their.contact.information.
An.organization.can.gain.very.high.value.by.creating.such.
a.list.and.keeping.it.up.to.date.
In. the. revised. Federal. Rules. of. Civil. Procedure. (court.
rules.that.we.went.over.in.depth.in.Chapter.1),.there.is.one.
section. that. requires. organizations. to. provide. “a. copy—or.
a. description. by. category. and. location—of. all. documents,.
electronically.stored.information,.and.tangible.things.that.the.
disclosing.party.has.in.its.possession,.custody,.or.control.and.
may. use. to. support. its. claims. or. defenses,. unless. the. use.
would.be.solely.for.impeachment.”
*
Now.that.would.seem.like.a.large.order.and.a.dificult.
one.for.most.organizations.to.manage..I.would.venture.to.
guess.that.most.of.you.reading.this.could.not.point.to.such.
a.document.in.your.organization.
However,. the. intention. (and. in. most. court. cases. what.
seems.to.be.expected).was.that.organizations.should.be.able.
to.locate.and.document.the.existence.of.any.electronic.data..
In.order.to.do.so,.one.needs.to.understand.where.the.data.
live,. as. we.discussed. elsewhere,. and.who.controls. it,. as. we.
discuss.here.
A.good.place.to.begin.will.be.to.complete.a.thorough.inven-
tory. of. the. databases,. storage,. and. management. of. all. data.
your.organization.creates..This.is.often.called.a.“data.map.”
Document.which.department.or.division.controls.that.data..
Create.a.dynamic.data.map.of.contact.information.for.the.cus-
todians,.managers,.and.administrators.of.the.different.data.sets.
in.question.
Most.importantly,.recognizing.that.this.is.a.dynamic.docu-
ment.and.a.moving.target,.you.need.to.ensure.someone.has.
ownership. and. maintenance. responsibilities. for. the. direc-
tory.. A. role. needs. to. be. established. (with. the. all. important.
*.
Rule.26.(a)(1)(A)(ii),.Federal.Rules.of.Civil.Procedure,.as.amended.December.1,.
2010.
