The Legal Hold & Preservation Maturity Model Measure your company’s level of process maturity for fulfilling legal preservation duties. Business Intelligence Associates, Inc All Rights Reserved © 2014 www biaprotect.com Tel. (888) 339-4242 info@biaprotect com Mar/2014The Legal Hold & Preservation Maturity Model Table of Contents Executive Summary .. Introduction... Background... ‘The Business Process.. ‘The Maturity Model... ‘The Legal Hold & Data Preservation Maturity Model 5 Levels. Level 1 - Ad hoe, Chaotic Level 2 - Repeatable, Highly Manual Level 3 - Standardized, Primarily Manual Level 4 Semi-automated, Managed. Level 5— Integrated and Optimizing, In Conclusion... About BIA. © © ee Se eww 10 ul 2 B uw Page | 2The Legal Hold & Preservation Maturity Model Executive Summary Legal hold and preservation obligations are among the most prevalent topics in Information Governance, Records Management and Legal Compliance discussions today. Yet, even with such a focus, many organizations struggle to identify their needs, obligations and appropriate solutions. The purpose of this white paper is to review how organizations address those legal hold & preservation needs, establishing a Legal Hold & Preservation Maturity Model to assist organizations in evaluating their own position along that maturity spectrum, This paper looks at the stages an organization generally will follow when determining how best to address legal hold obligations. From manual, ad-hoc and reactionary methods to planned, managed and cost-controlled protocols, the discussion reviews each phase of the maturity model. By understanding the model and where your organization currently fits in that model, you will be able to evaluate your level of preparedness and create a plan to move your organization through the model, even potentially skipping steps to get to the maturity level desired, as appropriate Introduction The legal duty to preserve information, regardless of whether that information exists in paper, electronic and/or some other form, is a routine part of running a business today. Indeed, in many instances it’s a critical business process. An organization's duty to preserve information may arise from regulatory requirements, such as the obligation to maintain certain financial records for a set period of time, or legal hold obligations, such as arises when a lawsuit is filed and the organization must take steps to identify and preserve information that may be relevant to that lawsuit, For purposes of this white paper, the focus is on the latter legal hold obligations Legal hold obligations are triggered by an event (appropriately called a “triggering event”), which is most commonly the filing - or threatened filing - of a lawsuit. But, other events can trigger the duty as well. Judicial guidance defines a “triggering event” as any event that gives rise to a reasonable anticipation of litigation. Such an event could include major issues like a rash of product failures or a sophisticated financial fraud to more minor events such as slip-and-falls, contract disputes or individual employment and labor complaints. In other words, it’s not just the “bet-the-company” case or large complex litigation that triggers an organization's need to establish a legal hold and preservation process. I Page | 3 a