Effective Records Management and Litigation Support Strategies

1. Records Management and Litigation Presented to: ARMA – Dallas Chapter December 11, 2018 816 Congress Avenue Suite 1900 Austin, Texas 78701 (512) 322-5800 (512) 472-0532 Fax www.lglawfirm.com Presented by: Stefanie Albright

2. Records Management and Litigation: Providing Support Before, During, and After Litigation

3. Before Litigation • What is anticipation of litigation? • Starting to timely organize documentation • Coordination with Legal Counsel/Clients • Scanned versus hard copies • Organization: electronically and hard copies • Folders/Binders/Red Ropes

4. Communication Before Litigation • Know the basics of the case • Know the people involved • Inform the legal team of who in records will be handling documents • Calendar deadlines • Discussion of timing and scope of potential document production

5. Prepping Files for Litigation • Make sure records personnel have documents available to them • Designate who is to receive documents • Reminder: electronic records are documents

6. During Litigation • Make documents easy to find • Naming conventions are important: • Environmental Quality versus Env. Qual. • Disc. versus Discovery • PIA/ORR/OAG

7. During Litigation • Consistent designation of documents • As you save, include key words • Develop a team organization schedule

8. Chain of Custody • Within and outside your organization • Educating records staff on ensuring chain of custody for litigation purposes • Procedures for taking/checking out/replacing documents relevant to litigation • Designating who is allowed to change documents • Procedures may change before/during/after litigation process

9. After Litigation • Know your records retention schedule • Team communication prior to closing out documents • Develop a close out procedure • Know deadlines for appeal • Mark permanent documents • Discuss retention preferences

10. Destruction of Documents A local government record whose retention period has expired may not be destroyed if any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, public information request, administrative review, or other action involving the record is initiated; its destruction shall not occur until the completion of the action and the resolution of all issues that arise from it.

11. PROS Keep consistent schedule for retention of documents Potentially less onerous discovery/PIA requests Less time spent scanning/converting older documents Less need to keep up with technology CONS Concerns about spoliation if litigation anticipated Loss of favorable documents Historical narrative Consistent application of destruction procedures Technology difficulties Destruction Pros and Cons

12. Before You Destroy… • Ensure communication between legal teams and records management • Communicate with consultants to ensure same schedule • Review schedules and documents to make sure permanent documents all identified • Make sure they’re your documents

13. Tips for Supporting the Legal Team • Communication is key between records management and the legal team AND within the records team • Learn the language • Create consistent designation and organization

14. Stefanie Albright 816 Congress Avenue Suite 1900 Austin, Texas 78701 (512) 322-5814 (512) 472-0532 Fax www.lglawfirm.com salbright@lglawfirm.com