Managing Risks and Cutting Costs: Remediation of Legacy Data

Originally published January 2009

Keywords: Electronic discovery, records management, legacy data, data retention, legal hold policy,

The Electronic Discovery & Records Management (EDRM) practice at Mayer Brown LLP is pleased to bring you the first edition of our "Tip of the Month" series. These monthly tips will provide you with best practices and other information about effective risk and cost management practices associated with EDRM.

Scenario:

In 2005, a government investigation of a company was initiated and class action litigation quickly followed. In response to the investigation and litigation, the company pulled backup tapes, de-activated the auto-delete function for its email systems, and imaged dozens of employees' hard drives. Four years later, the investigation has been dormant for some time, and the class action litigation has now mostly settled or has otherwise been dismissed, but some opt-out litigation remains active. Now, due to cost-cutting