Disclosure: Litigation

This Practice Note explains the key issues counsel should consider when drafting a document retention or recordkeeping policy, also called an information management policy or a records maintenance policy.

A document retention policy (also known as a records and information management policy) establishes and describes how a company expects its employees to manage company data from creation through destruction. It can be incorporated into an employee handbook or used as a stand-alone policy document. This Standard Document applies only to private workplaces. It is based on federal law. State or local law may impose additional or different recordkeeping requirements, but this document is relevant and useful to companies in every state. This Standard Document has integrated notes with important explanations and drafting tips.

A consideration of how companies can ascertain which business areas are most exposed to legal disputes and implement procedures to avoid or minimise that risk.

In the light of recent legal and technological developments in relation to e-disclosure and document storage, companies are increasingly focusing on the importance of establishing effective document retention policies. This article outlines the legal issues to be addressed when implementing or reviewing such policies, with specific reference to the law and practice in ten jurisdictions.

This article considers the impact of a recent Court of First Instance decision on the issue of legal privilege in Europe and provides some practical advice on document handling in EC competition law matters in the light of the judgment.

This two-part article identifies the challenges facing companies as they attempt to manage disclosure exercises dealing predominantly with electronic material and provides practical guidance for in-house counsel in preparing for and overseeing the electronic disclosure process.

The concept of legal privilege differs across jurisdictions around the world, creating significant risks for multinational companies and their legal advisers. This article, the first of a two-part feature, overviews the law on privilege in 25 jurisdictions.

This is a chapter from Privilege and Confidentiality: An International Handbook (Bloomsbury Professional) which provides an overview of legal professional privilege (both legal advice and litigation privilege) and confidentiality for in-house and outside counsel. It covers many different jurisdictions including Brazil; Canada; China; England and Wales; Nigeria; Russia; South Africa; Turkey and UAE. Each chapter looks at recent privilege and confidentiality developments in each jurisdiction and identifies possible strategies to enhance and strengthen the application of legal professional privilege around the world. The book includes a separate chapter on legal privilege and confidentiality in arbitration. Also addressed are the Europe-wide ramifications on legal professional privilege and in-house counsel of the recent ECJ judgment in Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd and Akcros Chemical Ltd v Commission of the European Communities (September 2010). Chapter 20 and the index are FREE to view, as a sample of the book's contents. To view the other chapters, please subscribe to Books online.