The Lawyer S Guide To Records Management And Retention

This book will help any law firm create and maintain an effective and well-organized records management program, including administration and storage of client files and administrative records in all types of media. Firms will learn to implement an efficient information, document, and file retrieval system, thus reducing costs, avoiding ethics violations, and ensuring client satisfaction. In addition, the book covers legal and ethics compliance when it comes to management and retention of both paper and electronic files.

This report looks closely at legal records management, and provides information and analysis on staff size and training, attorney-records staff relations, outsourcing, negotiations with warehouse suppliers, use of digital imaging, use of RFID, retention policies, equipment purchasing plans, and other facets of legal records management. The study is based on detailed interviews with records and practice management professionals and partners at some of America's most prestigious law firms, courts and law schools. Among the organizations profiled: Thompson Hine, Dewey Ballantine, Kay Scholer, Fulbright & Jawarski, The National Archives & Records Administration, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, the U.S. Court System for the District Courts, Thomas M. Cooley Law School and Darby & Darby.

Records and Information Management: Fundamentals of Professional Practice, Fourth Edition presents principles and practices for systematic management of recorded information. It is an authoritative resource for newly appointed records managers and information governance specialists as well as for experienced records management and information governance professionals who want a review of specific topics. It is also a textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of records management or allied disciplines—such as library science, archives management, information systems, and office administration—that are concerned with the storage, organization, retrieval, retention, or protection of recorded information. The fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and expanded to: Set the professional discipline of RIM in the context of information governance, risk mitigation, and compliance and indicate how it contributes to those initiatives in government agencies, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations Provide a global perspective, with international examples and a discussion of the differences in records management issues in different parts of the world. Its seven chapters are practical, rather than theoretical, and reflect the scope and responsibilities of RIM programs in all types of organizations. Emphasize best practices and relevant standards. The book is organized into seven chapters that reflect the scope and responsibilities of records and information management programs in companies, government agencies, universities, cultural and philanthropic institutions, professional services firms, and other organizations. Topics covered include the conceptual foundations of systematic records management, the role of records management as a business discipline, fundamentals of record retention, management of active and inactive paper records, document imaging technologies and methods, concepts and technologies for organization and retrieval of digital documents, and protection of mission-critical records. In every chapter, the treatment is practical rather than theoretical. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience supplemented by insights from records management publications, the book emphasizes key concepts and proven methods that readers can use to manage electronic and physical records.

Electronic Records Management and e-Discovery provides an authoritative, insiders perspective on key strategies for managing electronic records during litigation. Featuring partners from some of the nations leading law firms, these experts guide the reader through the process of implementing an e-discovery strategy, as they discuss the importance of protecting electronic information, considering e-discovery aspects early on in litigation, and agreeing on a framework to pursue electronic discovery with opposing counsel. These top lawyers reveal their advice on navigating current rules and regulations governing electronic records and e-discovery and comment on the need for additional regulation in this area of law. From meeting with the IT staff of corporate clients to understanding the evolution of electronic records management systems, these authors explain the importance of gathering information regarding a clients electronically stored information and retention policies. These attorneys also discuss recent trends in e-discovery, including relevant cases and changing legal standards. The different niches represented and the breadth of perspectives presented enable readers to get inside some of the great legal minds of today, as these experienced lawyers offer up their thoughts around the keys to navigating a rapidly-changing area of law.

This manual helps medium and large law firms increase productivity by providing a model manual for law office policies and procedures. The book, an updated and expanded version of the previous (fourth) edition, is divided into seventeen sections, covering such topics as law office organization, management, and administration, support personnel, office polices, personnel policies and benefits, office security and emergency procedures, financial management, file systems, technology, and communications systems. The book contains numerous sample forms and documents, as well as extensive bibliographies. A CD containing the entire text of the manual is included, allowing customization of the manual for particular user needs.