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New Email Rules Effective Friday

Posted by Zonk on from the kiss-your-conversations-goodbye dept.

An anonymous reader writes "As of today [Friday], certain U.S. companies will need to keep track of all the e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents generated by their employees, in accordance with new federal rules. In April the Supreme Court began requiring companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce 'electronically stored information' as part of the discovery process of a trial." From the article: "Under the new rules, an information technology employee who routinely copies over a backup computer tape could be committing the equivalent of 'virtual shredding,' said Alvin F. Lindsay, a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP and expert on technology and litigation. 'There are hundreds of "e-discovery vendors" and these businesses raked in approximately $1.6 billion in 2006, [James Wright, director of electronic discovery at Halliburton Co.] said. .'"

2 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. Misleading by calbanese · · Score: 5, Informative
    Under the new rules, an information technology employee who routinely copies over a backup computer tape could be committing the equivalent of 'virtual shredding.

    This is a bit misleading. Its only "virtual shredding" if you don't keep the records around for a reasonable period (either by statutory requirements or insutry standards) or if you have notice of litigation in which the evidence is relevant, and you continue to shred.

    Thats why there is a document retention policy safe harbor in the rules themselves.

    As amended, Rule 37 creates a "safe harbor," protecting a party from sanctions for failure to produce electronically stored information as long as it took reasonable steps to preserve electronically stored information when it knew or should have known such information was discoverable, or the failure results from loss of information during routine operation of such party's electronic information system.
    FWIW, lawyers, even the "technology experts" don't seem to understand technology as well as someone who came through IT before becoming a lawyer.

    (disclaimer: IT guy-turned-lawyer, so I always think I know more than "pure lawyers" when it comes to tech).
  2. The amendments by jwaters · · Score: 5, Informative

    Since the linked article is light on information, I found the actual amendments (note: PDF)