Today’s Blog is sponsored by MER 2017, Cohasset Associates’ 25th
annual educational conference on electronic records management, in Chicago, May
8-10.
Few records managers work
solo. Nor should they.
Today’s RIM requires expertise
and contributions from a variety of disciplines beyond the scope and/or capabilities
of any one person. Not many RIMmers are
technologically super-savvy, and few techies understand RIM. Similarly, I have never heard of a law school
class on RIM (although elements may be included in Discovery). Nor are there many records manager with “JD”
after their names.
The point is: no one can know
everything, so our success depends on collaboration with other
disciplines. That’s easier said than
done.
Let’s talk about members of the Bar. Many obstacles inhibit a natural cooperation
between attorneys and records managers.
They have different backgrounds, training, perspectives, priorities,
resources, status, budgets, salaries, and pain points that keep them up at
night.
There tend to be personality
differences too. Consider: many lawyers
decide on their career relatively early in life. They are survivors; their rigorous training
weeds out the weak. By the time they
receive their Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, they are the elite. And while stereotypes are always problematic,
corporate lawyers tend to be risk-averse, non-committal extroverts (or
over-compensating introverts) who are self-aware of their authority as members
of the Bar. They accept that, in
corporate law, there are many ambiguities.
Nonetheless many have a need to be right, and the Law backs them up.
Records and Information Managers
are in stark contrast. They tend to
enter the discipline in mid-career. Few have degrees in the area. There are no RIM measures of expertise until
one goes for certification. In the corporate
or governmental prestige pecking-order, RIMmers may not even make the top
half. Both their budgets and salaries
are low, relative to lawyers. On the
personality scale, RIMmers tend to be introverts and/or perfectionists.
Records people usually know only as
much law as they need to, perhaps Civil Procedures 26(b). They may have heard of UBS v. Zubalake. When it
comes to contract law, intellectual property law, or other corporate law, most
of us draw a blank.
General Counsels and their staffs
generally know little about records retention schedules and taxonomies. They have little or no experience in writing records
management policies and procedures. They
know about declaring legal holds, but they may not know how to apply them effectively.
Despite these significant
differences, organizational success depends on law/RIM collaboration. It improves litigation defense, and it guards
against charges of spoliation. Collaboration
with a contract attorney protects records stored offsite, as well as
information gathered online or by mobile apps.
Conversely, lawyers help validate RIM; the General Counsel’s office may
even help fund records initiatives.
Here are five key steps records
leaders can take to improve collaboration between these disparate groups:
- · Get your basics down – hopefully committed to memory:
o
If you’re not already, get conversant on the
records portions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the derivative
case law.
o
Avail yourself to the resources of The Sedona
Conference (www.thesedonaconference.org),
notably the Sedona Principles. Sedona is
a key intersection between records systems, the law, and the resulting
implications
o
Go to MER 2017 (www.merconference.com) [the sponsor of
today’s Blog post] and immerse yourself in the creative synergy that happens
when some of the most perceptive minds in both records and the law come
together. If you can’t attend in person,
sign up for remote access to the MER presentations.
o
Exploit ARMA’s estimable resources, including
the Bookstore and Chapter libraries and meetings.
·
- Find an ally. Ask how a Records/Legal collaboration can best advance your organization’s goals. Who, within the Legal team, can collaborate to move the organization forward? Check Legal’s organizational schema, including in-house counsel and outside counsel. [Note that while employees of your organization are called in-house counsel, attorneys from independent law firms are never called out-house counsel.] Who can best contribute to success? Make that person your “new best friend”.
o
Are Discovery issues most pressing? Then your ally may be an eDiscovery
attorney.
o
Is the biggest issue unmanaged records outside
the firewall? Then your new partner may
be a contract attorney.
o
Is regulatory compliance difficult to
prove? Then you may want to befriend a
regulatory specialist.
o
If software doesn’t meet policy requirements
(such as systems that can’t put holds on data), find the most tech-savvy
attorney who can address it.
- · Learn the parameters, frontiers, and basic vocabulary of your ally’s specialty. A simple Web search will reveal many resources. Each focus has its own publications. Read a sampling. When you see a reference to a salient legal case, find it on the Web and read the abstract.
- · Meet informally. I prefer a lunch where you can learn a bit about each other (family, interests, political leanings, and more), and also dispel preconceptions.
- · Remember your differences and work to bridge the gulfs. Seek points of congruence that emphasize shared concerns. Ask questions that solicit legal opinions and, when possible, refer to seminal legal cases (see above) that relate to his/her opinions.
- · Follow up:
o
When you see a pertinent article or legal reference
in a magazine, send your friend the link.
o
If some new case or technology effects your
work, ask your ally how they relate to your current legal situation.
o
Have a second luncheon meeting, and a
third. Look for ways your collaboration
can improve your organization and show those to the counselor.
o
Be prepared to involve attorneys with other
specialties.
Following these steps, I have
found great openness and surprising acceptance.
That’s because records managers solve lawyers’ problems that they can’t
solve for themselves. It relieves stress
and contributes to their success. In
appreciation, they might even pick up the tab for lunch.
The same principles extend to
other groups, such as IT or Audit groups.
The personality types, pain points, publications, etc. change, but
friendship always accelerates essential collaboration.
Get to know a “new best friend” today.
Get to know a “new best friend” today.
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