Policy Consulting

Corporations, governments and law firms recognize the importance of having in place an operational set of policies, protocols and processes to guide and provide structure to employees.

As corporations have built and continue to build and improve their Governance, Risk and Compliance functions and infrastructure to respond to the demands of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Canadian Securities Administrator’s National Instrument 31-103 and other similar controls, they have in many cases overlooked legal policies, protocols and processes. With the exponential growth of data created and stored on corporations’ networks, it is more important now than ever to have effective policies, protocols and processes in place.

Ledjit helps corporations, governments and law firms to define and develop these policies, protocols and processes using best practices and leveraging the experience of its leading practitioners, consultants and jurists. Ledjit’s team of experts continues to support you through training, dissemination and implementation of the new policies, protocols and processes . Ledjit provides current awareness as well as annual review services to ensure that your policies remain current to the evolving rules and requirements. Ledjit also offers audit services to ensure organisational compliance with the existing policies and protocols.

As the judicial system, corporations, governments and law firms adjust to the new requirements of e-discovery, they have recognized the importance of providing structure to attorneys and employees responding to e-discovery demands. Courts are now interested about the existence of and adherence by the organisation and its employees to these corporate policies, protocols and processes.

Ledjit’s consultants have worked with corporations, governments and law firms to develop, implement, update and audit compliance with most types of policies, protocols and processes, including:

Documents and Records Retention Policy

Ledjit’s record retention policies help its client organisations improve their efficiency and productivity, while reducing costs and meeting legal requirements. Our information management consultants’ and lawyers’ objectives are to ensure that important records are handy, while unnecessary documents do not use storage space and create noise when searching for information.

The development and implementation of a framework for Documents and Records Retention normally result in reduced storage and maintenance costs, while ensuring legal and standards compliance.

Our consultants use Ledjit’s exclusive approach to develop such a framework. Corporate and departmental structures are carefully studied in conjunction with each group’s activities in order to understand which documents are created and received where and how. Once the documents, their formats, locations and business necessity have been identified, our lawyers and consultants group them by category according to a standard taxonomy and review the legal rules applicable to each category.

The policy normally covers topics such as scope,  ownership of the the policy and records, responsibilities, sanctions, audits, governance, definitions of documents and records as well as examples thereof, and notions such as original, transitory record, archive, destruction and confidentiality.

Click here to access the table of content of Ledjit’s standard Document Retention Policy.

E-Discovery

E-Discovery policy, protocols and processes  provide legal teams (in-house counsel, outside counsel, e-discovery consultant, information technology and security staff, forensic examiner, vendor, etc.) with the ability to plan and effectively manage the costs, time, burden and risks associated with the discovery process, while ensuring its defensibility. By understanding, planning and implementing effective business processes to address e-discovery, corporate counsel can systematically manage complex discovery demands in a repeatable and scalable manner.

The e-discovery framework is normally comprised of the following elements:

• Identification Protocol
  • Data and Network Map
  • Search Technology and Methodology
    • Checklist
• Litigation Hold Protocol and Processes
• Collection Guidelines
• Terms of engagement of the e-discovery task force
• Outsourcing Protocol
  • Model Request for Proposals
  • Analysis Grid
  • Up-to-date Information from Preferred Providers
• Processing Checklist
• Document Analysis and Production Guidelines

Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy

Ledjit’s Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy is a customized set of rules that defines the ways in which the information technology of your organisation may be used. While being concise and clear, it provides a full understanding of what the organisation will tolerate and the sanctions applicable in case of non-compliance.

Besides the Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy itself, Ledjit’s consultants will develop a complete framework to support and ensure compliance by recommending and implementing various technologies.

Click here to access the table of content of Ledjit’s standard Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy.

Information Security Policies

Ledjit’s information security policies are aimed at protecting information and the systems which store and process to ensure compliance with privacy, confidentiality and security-related regulations. These policies provide a description of the controls the organisation will use to protect its information according to its relative value.

Here is an overview of the different information security policy Ledjit develops for its clients:

• Network Security policy
• Firewall policy
• Email policy
• Data classification policy
• Password policy
• Mobile computer policy
• Confidentiality and Privacy policy
• Chinese Wall policy

Backup Policy

In the development of Backup Policies, Ledjit’s consultants ensure that it is in sync with the information management framework and more precisely with the document retention policy. These policies normally focuses on the frequency and timing of backups, their rotation, status verification, management, storage, validation, maintenance as well as currently used and legacy hardware and software.

Click here to access the table of content of Ledjit’s standard Backup Policy.

Other types of policies and protocols:

• Data Classification
• Taxonomy
• Data Destruction
• Document Imaging (Scanning)
• Knowledge Management
• E-Communication
• Remote Access
• Hosting
• Archiving
• Business Continuity Plan
• Outsourcing