Information Governance (IG) has gained increasing attention across many business verticals in recent years and law firms are taking notice. IG is often mistaken for Records and Information Management, but IG is broader in scope, taking into account who has access to what information across all physical and electronic storage, whether on-site, using firm infrastructure, or in the cloud. IG considers information security and data protection, privacy, network intrusion risk, e-Discovery ramifications, data value to the business, as well as records disposition. In short, IG’s goal is to maximize information value to an organization while minimizing risks and costs.
Where do firms start?
Historically, end users are disconnected from the business case for IG, and so the “what’s in it for me” factor has been lost in translation. Clients are, in fact, driving this change in response to increased regulatory compliance needs as well as ongoing data breach threats. As custodians of their data, clients are mandating new processes to their firms, or even selecting firms based on their ability to effectively govern their data—but attorneys tend to (and should) be more focused on the practice of law than governance of data. Success in delivering an effective IG program is only possible through modifying end user behavior, making IG an ongoing change management program.
Read the full article in ILTA’s 2019 White Papers.
