Page Two

January, 2007

AcceleCash NewsLetter

America's first Consultative Merchant Processor dedicated to Small Business

If you got slammed with a court request for all of your company's electronic records, including e-mails, BlackBerry messages and cell phone databases, would you be able to dig them up and hand them over?

Starting today, you don't have a choice.

Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that govern electronic discovery take effect today, and they're far more expansive in terms of the kinds of data businesses have to keep, store and keep track of.

The new eDiscovery rules require all businesses, both public and private, large and small, to hang on to e-mails, server backup tapes, home office computer data, BlackBerry messages, cell phone records and other electronic information - anything that could be sought in future corporate litigation, a fraud investigation, a mergers and acquisitions deal valuation or other proceeding. Penalties for non-compliance can include fines.

But some think the new rules could be as costly and burdensome for companies as complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which regulates corporate financial reporting and auditing.

Matthew Rechner, chair of the electronic discovery practice group and response team at the Cleveland law firm McDonald Hopkins Co. LPA, says the new guidelines formalize what the courts have been saying for years: that e-mails and other electronic data are relevant and can be requested as evidence.

Companies that update their policies can help insulate themselves against liability in future lawsuits.

"It's not something that happened overnight. This has been coming since the late '90s," said Tom Aleman, national service line leader for the analytic and forensic technology group at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in Charlotte, N.C.

"Here now is written in stone: 'Thou shalt be ready.' "
 

For more information about
eRecords Rules

AcceleCash Business Services
Contact: Andy Sparano

Konsen & Hostelley, LLP
Contact: Greg Hostelley

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