ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Legal

Critical Business Procedure - Keep All Email Communications

Author : Richard A. Chapo
Businesses routinely maintain copies of correspondence and memos. Far to often, however, they do not extend this practice to email correspondence. Email correspondence is no different then your normal paperwork. You must keep copies of all of it to protect your business in any litigation.

Currently, only banks and broker-dealers are obliged to retain e-mail and instant messaging documents for three years under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules. Beginning July 2006, all public companies will also be required to do so under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Notwithstanding these laws, your custom and practice should be to maintain copies of all email correspondence. Email is considered evidence and courts are hammering businesses that do not maintain email records. Judges are often ruling that the failure to maintain and produce email records means the business in question is hiding key evidence.

In the recent Perelman v. Morgan Stanley litigation, a judges ruling on the failure of Morgan Stanley to produce email was key factor in the issuance of a $1.45 billion verdict. Based on the failure to produce email records, Judge Elizabeth Maass issued a pretrial ruling that effectively found Morgan Stanley conspired to defraud Perelman in a 1998 deal. Morgan Stanley is not the only business defendant to have this problem.

In the summer of 2004, UBS bank was found by a judge to have willfully destroyed email evidence in a discrimination case. UBS was ordered to pay costs and a jury returned a $29 million verdict.

Email Policy

To protect your business, you must have a procedure in place to maintain email communications generated through the business. Failure to keep these records can lead to rulings in litigation that your business willfully destroyed evidence. If this occurs, the judge may issue significant monetary sanctions, automatically find you liable or take other harsh steps that assure a victory for the Plaintiff. As if such developments are not bad enough, there exists a second risk associated with email communications.

Maintaining email communications, however, can have a downside. The problem arises, of course, when a communication contains statements that are damaging to your business. Yes, the proverbial catch-22 situation.

To avoid such disasters, your business must develop a clear policy on email communications and train all employees to comply with that policy. Employees must understand the business environment is not one in which jokes, flippant remarks and so on should be made in email communications.

About the Author

Richard Chapo is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com">SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - Go to our http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com/business_law_articles">article section to read more business law articles.

Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. Litigation Funding Is Here To Stay
  2. Why Probate?
  3. Deeds of Variation - Are They Justified?
  4. School Bus Mishaps
  5. Cases Involving Defective Products
  6. You and the Tort Law: A Guide
  7. What To Do If Your Disability Case is Denied
  8. Quadriplegia: Victims Seeking Legal Help
  9. Injuries Sustained from Accidents on Boats
  10. Set Aside Foreclosure and Decree and Motion for New Trial
  11. Contesting a Will or a Trust. Can it Be Done?
  12. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Basics
  13. The Revokable Trust: Is it Really Revocable?
  14. Innovators: How To Turn Your Dreams Into Reality
  15. How to Patent Your Invention
  16. Virginia Workers Compensation for the Injured Worker
  17. The Secret To Protecting Your Business Assets
  18. Resolve Disputes With Your Partners Before They Happen
  19. The Business of Identity Theft
  20. How to Respond After Identity Theft Occurs
  21. Five Steps To Full Compensation For Your Personal Injury Claim
  22. Why Even A Simple Contract Can Save Your Bacon
  23. Information Linking Vioxx to Workers Compensation
  24. Workers Compensation - Know Your Rights
  25. Why Your Business Needs a Dispute Resolution Procedure
More related feeds
Critical Business Procedure - Keep All Email Communications
Far to often, however, they do not extend this practice to email correspondence. Email correspondence is no different then your normal paperwork. You must keep copies of all of it to protect your business in any litigation. ...

Outsourcing Email Management? Companies are getting the Message
A downed email system interrupts business, slows productivity and disrupts potentially critical communication. And companies can be held financially liable for viruses that are inadvertently spread by an employee, or for questionable or ...

The Business Value of Social Technology
But it seems not to have grasped the breadth of recent shifts in communications technology, says David All, a Republican new-media consultant. “You have an entire generation of folks under age 25 no longer using e-mails, not even using ...

Desktop Engineer
Can be counted on to keep commitments. Complies with the intent of policies, procedures and agreements. Builds others' trust in own professionalism, integrity, ex pertise and ability to get results. Communication: Provides both verbal ...

A Case for Comics: Comic Books as a Educational Tool
Of all the children placed on PECS, 76% have gone on to use either speech or the picture exchange (where none essentially had any socially acceptable communication system and were all 5 years of age or younger) (Bondy 9). ...

Late breaking news
Mystery shopping is critical to any business owners operations to accurately evaluate customer service standards from an outsiders perspective. Mystery shopping is one of the most flexible and beneficial tools for data collection that ...

All CIOs need to know about IT governance and active software escrow
Procedures and practices are in place to protect the company’s assets and reputation. * The company complies with all laws, regulations and best business practice. * Technology and systems in the company are adequate to run the company ...

Handling Expatriates: Issues and Challenges - ARE WE READY?
Are overseas assignments right for our business? How can we contain or reduce the related costs? Would an expatriate be a better choice than a local hire? If assignments are critical to meeting global business demands, ...

Call Center Customer Service Manager (Aliso Viejo, CA)
Maintain knowledge of all products and services offered in the division; keep informed of new or changing developments, products, services, or ideas which would affect operations • Ensures customer services goals are met ...

Microsoft Dynamics NAV News (25 сообщений)
3) Click on the E-mail tab. 4) Tick on the "Check incoming e-mail in Outlook and determine whether an e-mail should be linked and saved as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM record". 5) Select "All E-mail messages" from the Track drop down list. ...

 


 

2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved