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Adopting Information Governance in Small and Midsized Firms
The recent focus on information governance (IG) in the legal industry has usually been related to pre-litigation data and information management for clients. The objective of these IG efforts is to prevent the high costs of e-discovery after a litigation has started by implementing pre-litigation policies to regulate a client's data by knowing what data the client owns, where it is, who owns it and how long it should be retained. Concurrently, the law firm itself is undergoing a change in the way it handles its own and its clients' data. The law firm records management industry has been evolving to an information governance framework. The records function within the firm has traditionally been more of a back-end function, with the idea that everything was created in paper, made into an official record, indexed and hopefully regulated by retention schedules.
“But information governance is now making records management one cog in the whole wheel. We're shifting into things like matter lifecycle management, information security, information mobility, matter mobility, especially in law firms, with the transition of attorneys from one firm to another,” says Brianne Aul, senior manager of firmwide records at Reed Smith and steering committee member of the Law Firm Information Governance Symposium. Some of the other elements that make up the IG framework, according to the symposium, are IT systems administration, information governance awareness, firm intellectual property, document preservation, retention/disposition, client information requests, and records and information management.
New York's Latest Cybersecurity Commitment
On Aug. 9, 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced New York's inaugural comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. In sum, the plan aims to update government networks, bolster county-level digital defenses, and regulate critical infrastructure.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.
CLE Shouldn't Be the Only Mandatory Training for Attorneys
Each stage of an attorney's career offers opportunities for a curriculum that addresses both the individual's and the firm's need to drive success.