The focus of this white paper is to consider the amended rules from the perspective of the enterprise IT manager who is tasked with setting a policy on e-mail retention and destruction before any particular lawsuit is started or anticipated.

The rise of electronic records is having a profound effect on business litigation. A standard part of litigation today is the search for, disclosure of and dispute over e-mail and other electronic records.

Electronic records have become so important that the rules of litigation in US federal courts have officially amended so as to give judges and litigants more guidance on now to cope with these records. On December 1, 2006, amended parts of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) came into effect with respect to electronic records and their discovery in litigation.