Resource Library

This check card is a printable resource with practical advice for the dos and don'ts of smart record management.

The following article is a primer for non-lawyers in your company on how to audit corporate records to evaluate the knowledge that they contain as one of the first steps in setting up, revising, and maintaining an effective records management program. Because business people in your company may be more conscious now about records management issues, such as retention and destruction policies and schedules, since Enron and Andersen and other recent news-making events, the article explains the importance of going way beyond the outer concerns of what media to use for storage and how long to keep various records. The article explains the importance of delving into the content of the records and asking the right questions about why the company would want or need to keep the records and how the company could use those records to prove its worth in ways perhaps previously not considered. The article also outlines the critical fundamentals of performing a corporate records audit and offers practical suggestions and materials for completing a records audit. The article is certainly not a substitute for personal advice from in-house counsel geared to the particular records at hand, but should help lay the groundwork for discussions.

This article discusses what records need to be retained and what records you can toss out as in-house counsel.

Provides a sense of the issues that you need to consider in a document retention policy and discusses the pitfalls associated with any document retention policy (or the absence of one) and some ideas of how to proceed.

Until recently, document retention policies and advice by in-house counsel on their application were hardly front-page news. The unfolding events in the Enron/Andersen story illustrate how document retention policies and advice by in-house counsel concerning their application can become the subject of intense scrutiny if the destruction of documents and advice on the destruction occur when government investigations and litigation are either threatened or pending.

This brief filed by Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) and the US Chamber focuses on issues that create additional personal liabilities for in-house counsel and defense counsel in general; the zealous representation, level of communication and overall relationship of in-house counsel and their clients; and Document retention policies and the resulting liabilities for those who administer them.

This report summarizes findings from 240 corporate counsel respondents from a wide variety of industries and companies of all sizes. Includes information regarding respondent demographics, current trends, and suggested action to be taken.

Provides how in-house counsel can better protect their organizations from the dangers of having records programs that are not enforced.

This InfoPAK guides the in-house practitioner on how to establish a corporate compliance and ethics program. It begins by outlining the primary corporate legal obligations and requirements, focusing on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley, and then delineates the fundamental elements of an effective compliance program, focusing on how to maximize the potential of your compliance program. Finally, it discusses effective training and enforcement once the program is implemented, and offers numerous additional resources, including sample forms and policies and a Model Code of Conduct at the end.

A Value Practice resource that details Cisco's use of technology and strategic work flow processes to increase productivity and enable lawyers to work more effectively.