Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
•. A. process. for. ensuring. the. security. and. integrity. of.
the.data
•. Who.will.be.responsible.for.the.acquisition.and.secure.
storage.of.the.data
•. A. system. of. auditing. and. verifying. that. all. relevant.
data.were.preserved.(in.my.organization.we.have.data.
custodians.sign.an.afidavit.that.they.have.searched.for.
and.produced.any.and.all.relevant.evidence.that.they.
are.aware.of.and.that.is.in.their.control)
•. An.ongoing.monitoring.and.maintenance.of.the.hold.
and.preservation.of.any.new.data
In. my. organization,. our. law. department. is. the. respon-
sible. party. (and. most. case. law. puts. the. responsibility. for.
litigation. holds. squarely. on. the. backs. of. legal. counsel).. At.
the. trigger. event,. whether. that. be. an. employee. being. let.
go.or.threatening.some.action,.or.some.event.that.creates.
liability,.or.any.other.event.that.they.consider.a.trigger,.the.
attorney.or.their.paralegal.will.set.up.a.litigation.hold.meet-
ing..In.that.meeting.we.invite.the.owners.of.the.data,.their.
managers,.their.IT.staff.members,.and.the.legal.personnel.
to.all.get.together.and.discuss.all.of.the.places.that.relevant.
information.might.reside.
The.legal.folks.outline.the.parameters.such.as.dates.and.
subjects.that.are.in.scope..The.IT.staff.is.there.to.assist.with.
understanding. the. logistics. and. procedures. necessary. to.
acquire,. store,. and. secure. the. information.. We. also. some-
times. include. an. electronic. discovery. expert. to. assist. with.
ensuring.that.all.possible.areas.of.evidence.have.been.consid-
ered..All.custodians.of.the.data.are.given.afidavits.that.they.
are.to.sign.and.return.to.the.legal.staff.when.they.believe.they.
have.preserved.all.relevant.data.that.they.control.
After.that.initial.meeting,.the.legal.department.is.respon-
sible. for. sending. out. formal. notiications. to. all. affected.
employees. and. managers. which. outlines. exactly. what. they.
are.responsible.for.preserving,.how.they.should.preserve.it,.
and.for.how.long..They.are.also.responsible.for.following.up.
