Are you afraid of E-discovery?

You should be.

The federal rules are attempting to mirror modern society and provide
mechanisms for the the discovery of electronic documents. This only
makes sense. However, the cost and potential damage rendered by
E-discovery are incalculable. E-mail and text messages are the new
telephone calls. People treat e-mail as an INFORMAL means of
communication and often little thought is given to the content of an
e-mail. Speed is valued over content. The problem: People are putting
things in e-mail that should NEVER be put in writing- EVER. And unlike
hard copy documents that may eventually be shredded under an appropriate
document destruction policy, an opponent with enough resources can
always recover deleted e-mail. E-mail is forever, and tone and context
are no longer considerations 5 years down the road, when you are trying
to justify nasty comments in an e-mail. Many companies are investing a
lot of money in E-mail retention policies, content policies etc.
However, the cheapest, easiest and best solution: PICK UP THE PHONE or
WALK DOWN THE HALL.

THINK BEFORE YOU E-MAIL!

Jeanelle Lust
Managing Partner
www.knudsenlaw.com