Information Governance 101

Abstract

This informative and engaging session will cover the emerging field of Information Governance (IG) and why it is important for law firms and their clients. Information governance (IG) has been defined as the set of multi-disciplinary structures, policies, procedures, processes and controls implemented to manage information at an enterprise level, supporting an organization's immediate and future regulatory, legal, risk, environmental and operational requirements. Information governance is the first stage of an electronic discovery process, per the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), and thus clients whose information/data is properly organized will be better prepared for e-discovery, which is particularly important with the shortened timelines under the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Moreover, information governance recognizes that information has a lifecycle and thus information governance plans typically include the preparation of a retention and destruction policies and procedures. Not only can law firms increase their efficiency and reduce costs and risks by using appropriate information governance strategies, this can also be a practice builder because many clients are woefully deficient in their approaches to information governance. The prediction is that the need for information governance professionals will increase in the future as organizations of all types recognize their information as a strategic asset that needs to be managed properly and yet there are not enough professionals with IG expertise available.