Report Developed in Conjunction with Legal Information Managers Eager
to Establish Industry Standard for Governance; Webcast Series to Launch
in September
BOSTON & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2012--
Iron
Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is pleased to announce a new
report, titled “A Proposed Law Firm Information Governance Framework,”
developed by information management professionals from 20 top law firms.
Available on Iron Mountain’s website, the comprehensive report is the
product of a three-day working symposium convened in May to frame out
best practices for information governance within law firms. Members of
the symposium’s steering committee will present key themes of the report
Aug. 30 at the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA)
Conference in Washington, D.C.
The concept of information governance is evolving within law firms.
Firms are expanding traditional records practices to account for closer
client scrutiny on how information is managed; the pervasiveness of
mobile devices; greater information movement as partners change firms;
and growing threats of security breaches. Developed as a guide for law
firms to build programs for better managing client and firm data, the
report proposes a definition for information governance as well as ideas
for building and implementing programs that firms can tailor to their
culture.
“Information assets are the lifeblood of any organization; however, as
keepers of client-related information, the need for information
governance within law firms has never been more prevalent,” said
Leigh
Isaacs
, symposium steering committee member and director, records
and information management, at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, an
international law firm with more than 1,100 lawyers located in the major
commercial centers of North America, Europe and Asia. “As the volume of
information continues to grow, and the custodians of that information
become more widely dispersed, the need for governance increases in
importance. Iron Mountain’s symposium provided a much-needed forum for
industry leaders to discuss best practices that can ultimately benefit
the entire legal community. Our hope is that this report will get our
colleagues talking and serve as a resource for other information
managers at law firms, who want to benchmark themselves against their
peers when managing their firm’s information.”
Isaacs, along with other information management thought leaders from law
firms such as Reed Smith LLP; Morrison & Foerster LLP; Greenberg Traurig
LLP; and White & Case LLP, advised Iron Mountain with planning the
symposium and led nearly three dozen participants in four separate
workgroups examining different aspects of information governance at law
firms. Since the symposium met May 22-24 at the Renaissance Blackstone
Hotel in Chicago, Iron Mountain has synthesized the discussion,
definitions, leading practices, templates and strategies of each of
these workgroups into one report now available for download here
(registration required). The report’s four sections are:
-
Defining an Information Governance Framework. In addition to
proposing a definition for information governance, this section
recommends creating an advisory board to steer the development of
information governance processes and guide the firm on the benefits
gained from investing in governance.
-
It Takes a Village: Managing Information Governance.
Information Technology (IT), Records and Information Management (RIM)
and Risk Management departments have been steadily converging with a
common goal of information governance. This section recommends
responsibilities for each group and strategies for effective
collaboration to mitigate risk, reduce the cost of information
management and improve client service.
-
A Proposed Law Firm Information Security Assessment Framework.
In this portion of the report, users will find an eight-step process
for identifying risk in their information processes and developing
standards that balance securing client and firm information with
appropriate access.
-
How to Move Forward with an Information Governance Program in a Law
Firm. This section recommends strategies for making an information
governance program operational, including winning organizational
buy-in, creating a culture of participation, and measuring the
program’s effectiveness.
“With the symposium and the report, we want to give the legal industry a
collaborative platform to realize the promise of information governance
– lower costs, reduced risk and enhanced productivity,” said
Carolyn
Casey, Esq.
, senior manager, legal vertical for Iron Mountain. “We’re
hopeful this framework serves as a first step in that journey, sharing
the discussions of a relatively small group of thought leaders with the
broader legal community on how to build information governance at their
firm.”
The report’s recommendations will be the focus of a four-part webcast
series beginning Sept. 19. Each webcast will introduce a section of the
framework and explain how attendees can apply it to their law firm. More
information and registration details for the webcasts can be found here.
About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) provides information storage and
management services that help organizations lower the costs, risks and
inefficiencies of managing their physical and digital data. The
Company’s solutions enable customers to protect and better use their
information so they can optimize their business and ensure proper
recovery, compliance and discovery. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain
manages billions of information assets, including business records,
electronic files, medical data and more for organizations around the
world. Visit www.ironmountain.com
or follow the company on Twitter @IronMountain
for more information.
Source: Iron Mountain Incorporated
Iron Mountain
Christian T. Potts, 617-535-8721
christian.potts@ironmountain.com
or
Weber
Shandwick
Brad Baker, 617-520-7043
bbaker@webershandwick.com