Litigation Hold

It’s possible that you’ve never heard of the term, Litigation Hold. Well, if not, you wouldn’t be the only one. But, it’s a term you need to not only think about but understand. Why? Because it can be very costly if you don’t. A litigation hold is a written directive advising custodians of certain information to preserve potentially relevant evidence in anticipation of future litigation. So, why is this your problem? Two reasons: first, you’re the custodian of corporate information, we all are. And second, if you fail to preserve these electronic or paper records, if you destroy relevant evidence after the date of the litigation hold, even by accident, you can be found guilty of something called Spoliation. If that happens, your company could be subjected to massive sanctions such as fines into the millions and devastating jury instructions, sanctions that could change the outcome of an expensive and dangerous lawsuit, a lawsuit that could destroy your business unit or company. You don’t want to be the person who caused those sanctions. This could ruin your hard earned reputation and derail your career.