More companies strive to emulate U.S.-style retention policies.

• Position: E-DISCOVERY - Brief article

Implementing a legally defensible retention schedule is a key component of an organization's data management program. It can speed up the e-discovery process and reduce costs associated with document preservation and reproduction. U.S. companies understand this. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for most companies in other countries, according to a recent Mondaq article.

"Except for truly global companies that have plenty of a experience in U.S. litigation, many non-U.S. companies do not know how broad and burdensome the discovery process can be," said Masahiro Tanabe, an attorney who focuses on cross-border business transactions and disputes in the Tokyo office of Foley & Lardner LLP, in the article. "Similarly, many of them do not know that there is an obligation to preserve relevant documents pre-litigation. Accordingly, they are not always fully aware of the importance of a defensible document retention policy."

Tanabe said many companies typically have retention schedules that were developed in accordance with their home country...