How can adopting GARP principles help an organization in Legal matters?
As I noted in a chapter I wrote recently for a book to be published by the American Bar Association this coming summer, the GARP principles essentially codify legal requirements. This means that adherence to the GARP principles should indicate how the organization is on top of its statutory and regulatory recordkeeping requirements, in addition to compliance with other information governance mandates. The Principle of Retention, for instance, calls for adherence to legal retention requirements and business retention needs. Overarching all this is the Principle of Compliance, which means that organizations must be sure that they are complying with recordkeeping and overall information governance requirements. In terms of “Legal matters,” compliance with GARP should mean that the organization has a RIM program that is legally defensible, including the all-important Legal Holds policy and procedures to avoid sanctions for spoliation (i.e., the wrongful destruction of documents or evidence).
John Isaza is a California-based attorney and founding partner of the Howett Isaza Law Group, a law firm that specializes in electronic information governance, records management and overall corporate compliance. He may be reached at Jisaza@HiLawGroup.com or follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.