Legal RM, as an established organisation in the risk and compliance sector look to support professional services firms through their various networking events and discussion groups.

As part of this we would like to ask you to support Chris Francis, Records Manager at Nabarro LLP who is currently preparing his Masters Degree in Records Management. His chosen topic area is: 'Is it possible for UK law firms to rely exclusively on the electronic record to fully meet their legal requirements?'

In order for Chris to get an informed opinion of current trends, policies, working practices and culture within UK law firms he has put together a survey which is completely anonymous. Could we ask you to be so kind as to clink on the link below and fill in this survey. Not only will this help Chris in completing his paper, we will also be publishing some of the key findings of the survey on our website for all to see and use.
 
http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=NCKHI_e32fb8fe 
 
Your help is greatly appreciated and should you have any queries please feel free to contact us. Don't forget to pass on this blog post to others interested in Electronic Records Management.

Key to terminology for the survey
 
Retention policy:
The retention policy is a document created to specify what records should be kept and for how long within the organisation.  Certain records will have external regulatory requirements, such as financial records, which must be accessible for a period of years.  Other records will be kept at the organisations discretion based on risk factors which need to be considered before a record is destroyed.  The policy is usually created by the highest level within the organisation to evaluate the risk of destroying records or holding on to them indefinitely.
 
Record: 
The Civil Evidence Act 1995 defines a record as ‘anything in which information of any description is recorded... ‘
An electronic record is essentially the same only held in an electronic format.
 

Electronic Record:
An electronic record is a record of activity that has either been created by or on an electronic device or a record that has been entered onto an electronic device, such as a scanned letter which is then held in a PDF (Portable Document Format), this enables a scanned image of a document be held in electronic format and readable on a computer screen.
 
Legal Admissibility:
Evidence of an activity is often produced in a physical form, such as a signature on a contract, that an individual or party agreed to conditions set out within it.  If the contract is called in to question and for a party to prove that the record is genuine, the signature may be used as admissible evidence.  Legal admissibility comes in many guises, but essentially it is a means in which to prove that an action or activity took place.
 

Disaster Recovery:
When a disaster occurs within an organisation, it will often have documented procedures to enable normal business activity to continue.  The policy may include anything from a disaster which may close a building to the loss of electronic systems required for business activity.
 

Document Management System:
A document management system is where electronic records can be held on a centralised system rather than on an individuals computer.  They may have ways in which to identify electronic records, such as indexes, and levels of security to prevent certain electronic records being accessed by unauthorised individuals.
 
Standards:
Certain standards or Codes have been created by the BS (British Standards) and ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) on the creation and maintenance of records both in hard copy and electronic format.  These standards are often referred to as best practice and are recommended guidelines to ensure a specific result or to reduce the risk of unwanted results.