NorthSeas AMT

The December 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) are significant and can potentially affect any organization - small businesses and large ones, government agencies as well as companies, school boards and community associations. Any organization that could face a law-suit should be aware of these new rules – preferably, long before being forced to by opposition lawyers. If you enter into civil litigation, there is a strong likelihood you will be required to
produce e-mail messages during the discovery process. This is the worst possible time to begin addressing e-mail retention and retrieval. Prior to the new FRCP amendments, there were no rules that explicitly governed the use of electronic information during litigation proceedings, despite the growing importance of this kind of evidence:

• 89% of companies reported that at least one new suit was filed against the company during the past year. (Source: International law firm, Fulbright &
Jaworski)

• More than 50% of litigation cases now include e-mail as evidence. (Source: MIT)

• 25% of public schools said they have faced lawsuits in the past two years. (Source: National School Board Association)

The new FRCP amendments now formally recognize the unique role that Electronically Stored Information (ESI) plays in Federal courts, and defines a set of clear obligations pertaining to its presentation (or production), as evidence. This paper explains each of the new amendments and their relevance to e-mail retention management. It also suggests ways in which NorthSeas e-mail archiving can help you reach a state of discovery readiness, should you ever be called upon
to present e-mail evidence.

For the full white paper please register below.