CIO Executive Council — E-discovery is an acute reflection of just how critically integrated IT has become within the legal landscape of business. It is necessary for IT and legal staff to collaborate on the maintenance, collection and preservation of relevant, electronically stored information (ESI). In particular, these preservation policies mitigate the risk of deletion or loss of information for current litigation, or for reasonably anticipated legal action, says Deborah Hill, staff attorney, State of Connecticut Department of Information Technology. While IT staff are critical to figuring out what to save and how, they are generally not familiar with legal terminology or procedures.

This guidance is a legal primer for IT. Hill worked with a team of IT experts to provide clear, jargon-free speak explanations of why and how each part of the e-discovery process works. "We have to educate IT staff about the legal ramifications of not following these rules," Hill says.

The guide starts with simple definitions of legal terms that IT staff are likely to encounter. It then outlines and explains the reasoning for the obligations surrounding data preservation for legal purposes. It closes with instructions for preserving e-mail, other electronically stored information and documents, as well as hard copies.

Download the e-discovery guidance, or learn more about the Council at council.cio.com.