WEST ORANGE, N.J.--As the December 1 effective date approaches for new federal rules requiring early disclosure of electronically stored information (ESI) in every court case, the former head of compliance for Cendant has established an advisory group to assist organizations and legal-services providers in navigating what will be rough seas ahead.
Rick Wolf, global compliance chief for Cendant from 2002 through its disaggregation last summer, has opened the doors of Lexakos LLC www.lexakos.com, which he founded to specialize in all facets of corporate compliance, records management and e-discovery controls.
“In the areas of records management and e-discovery, from where I sit, neither corporate law departments nor law firms seem prepared for the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” says Wolf, who is the president of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Greater New York chapter and an experienced litigation practitioner.
“A recent survey by the American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute found that almost two-thirds of respondent organizations haven’t yet adopted policies for saving, purging and managing e-mail,” he adds.
“Industry analyst firm IDC predicts nearly 84 billion emails are being sent daily in 2006 and the proliferation of cell-phone use and other electronic communication devices means the need for organizations to establish better internal mechanisms is excruciatingly clear,” continues Wolf, a recognized innovator in legal and business-process management systems and frequent speaker for the American Bar Association and other professional groups.
The good news, he says, is that “along with the arrival of the new rules is growing recognition that these matters can no longer be ignored.” The bad news, he quickly adds, is that “most organizations are struggling to find ways to deal with the email proliferation other forms of ESI. With the emergence of the new federal rules," he says, "instituting effective records information management policies and procedures will remain a top corporate priority for years to come.”
Wolf explains that Lexakos offers practice-tested strategies and methods that “go to the heart of information lifecycle management risks and help mitigate exposure through business-efficient and logical methodologies. Law firms,” he adds, “are under a great deal of pressure to meet the new demands of corporate clients and need help establishing ESI and related compliance practice groups—or enhancing existing ones.”
Wolf cites a recent BTI Consulting Group study reported in the ABA Journal, which indicates that 70 percent of corporate counsel surveyed — most from Fortune 1000 companies — were dissatisfied with their primary law firms, with about half reporting that they’d replaced or demoted at least one of their primary law firms in the 18 months prior to the survey.
“Among the factors said to have led to dissatisfaction,” he says, “was that law firms ‘fail to keep up with clients’ changing needs.’ Well, tighten your chin straps, as those needs are dramatically changing,” Wolf continues. “Law firms must rise to the occasion or face more unhappy clients and the associated fallout.”
