Record Retention: How to Develop Up to Date Policies and Practices
Duration: 90 minutes
Speaker: Benjamin Wright
-
In a 2005 hostile work environment lawsuit, a federal court penalized a company for failing to preserve emails discussing harassment allegations, even though litigation had not been threatened.
-
Recently, another federal court sanctioned a community college for not knowing that when police investigate a teacher for sexual misconduct, records need to be quarantined, just in case a civil lawsuit emerges later.
-
In a contract dispute, an appeals court held that a flurry of informal emails constituted a “signed writing” that amended a signed, paper contract.
In this environment, how do you know which records to keep and which to destroy? Record retention is in a state of upheaval. Traditional practices developed when paper was king don’t fit well with the age of computers. Email does not behave the same as paper. Moreover, litigation has been revolutionized by “e-discovery,” the requirement to deliver e-mails, text messages and other electronic documents to legal adversaries.
As a consequence, all organizations need to rethink their policies on record retention. This webinar will offer practical steps for developing workable record retention policies and practices for the modern enterprise. It will cover paper records (including old dusty records in the warehouse), imaged records and electronic records, especially electronic mail. It will draw upon real-world experience from workshops held in numerous, diverse organizations, including private sector, public sector and nonprofits.
Agenda
- What does the law require for record retention?
- What are the best practices for record retention today?
- How should retention of electronic records be different from retention of paper records?
- What is the most effective way to draft and implement a workable record retention program?
- How can you identify and safely destroy old records you no longer need?
- What are best practices for making images of paper records and then destroying the paper?
- Q&A
Bonus! Webinar attendees can download several sample policies and templates which will be explained in detail during the webinar.
Logistics
- 90-minute webinar (Travel-Free) delivered over the phone and Internet.
- Unlimited listeners per connection - bring the entire department.
- Q&A session with the expert.
This event will be presented live by phone together with a PowerPoint presentation to be viewed on your computer. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants. The PowerPoint slides will be provided shortly before the event. Once you register, you will receive an email which is your receipt and which includes your instructions for dialing in and logging on. You will also receive an email reminder 24 hours before the webinar.
What is a webinar?
A webinar is a live Internet based seminar. Webinars are a way for participants in many different locations to see and hear a presentation and view PowerPoint slides. You can also have your colleagues attend the webinar using one connection.
What kind of equipment do I need?
You will need a computer with an Internet connection (high speed service such as DSL or cable works best) and a telephone.You may listen to the webinar through your computer speakers, in which case you will not need to use a telephone connection. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants, but you will not be able to see the speaker’s slides.
How can I share the webinar with my colleagues who may not be able to attend the event?
CDs of each program will be available for sale and can be shared with your business associates.
Can I get a copy of the PowerPoint slides used in the webinar?
The PowerPoint slides will be available on the materials page link in the confirmation email that will be sent to you no later than the morning of the day a webinar is presented.
How do I ask a question during the webinar? Will my question be answered during the presentation?
A question and answer session will be scheduled at the end of each webinar. You can then ask a question by typing it into the question box that will be provided to you duringthe webinar. You may also ask a question through the telephone connection. As many questions as possible will be answered during the Question and Answer period.