E-Discovery & Business Continuity FAQ
Get answers to common questions about e-discovery and business continuity practices within Student Affairs at Texas A&M. This resource helps staff understand data retention, legal holds, and how technology supports uninterrupted operations during unexpected events.
An FAQ for Legal Holds, E-Discovery, and Business Continuity
Have you considered your department’s business continuity procedures when storing department information in locations such as Google Shared Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft OneDrive? Can your department access needed information if you are unexpectedly out? Have you considered E-Discovery or Open Records Request processes when leveraging these cloud tools?
With all of the file storage, sharing, and collaboration tools available, our desire to improve collaboration and efficiency often overshadows potential legal and operational risks. This FAQ is intended to help inform your decision-making.
Cloud storage can be a convenient and efficient way to store University data, but other considerations must be made when decided to store information in these locations. Among some of the considerations we need to think about are;
- Business Continuity consideration to ensure the information can be accessed when it’s needed.
- E-Discovery and Open Records Requests
- Federal and State Laws governing certain types of protected data, and how it’s stored.
Business continuity ensures that your unit continues to operate effectively through major changes or unforeseen events.
- What is your department’s policy on using these resources?
- Does your department have a policy on how information is accessed in the extended absence of an employee?
- What is your department’s procedure to transfer data stored on a cloud storage service to another employee when roles or responsibilities change?
- What is your department’s plan if cloud storage is unexpectedly unavailable?
- How will my decision to store department information in a specific cloud resource impact the processes above?
Electronic Discovery, or E-Discovery, refers to the process of identifying, preserving, collecting processing, reviewing, and producing Electronically Stored Information (ESI) as part of the larger civil procedure known as discovery.
E-Discovery is coordinated by the Chief Information Security Officer and the process may be started by;
- A Legal Holds Task assigned by the Office of General Counsel (OGC)
- Public Information Requests
- Law enforcement investigations
- Investigations performed by the Division of Human Resources and Organization Effectiveness
- Investigations being conducted by the Aggie Honor System Office
Preservation is the act of ensuring Electronically Stored Information (ESI) is protected against inappropriate alteration or destruction. When an authorized entity (such as a law enforcement agency, the Office of General Counsel, The Division of Human Resources, or other authorized group makes preservation hold they reach out to the Chief Information Officer who coordinates the E-Discovery process and ensures the necessary ESI is Preserved and can be provided as requested.
If I receive an E-Discovery or Open Records request and I have responsive data in a cloud storage location, do I have the proper tools and knowledge to respond appropriately?
- Will the search tools available to me help me effectively locate responsive data?
- Do I know how to export responsive data from the cloud storage location?
- Do I know how to prevent the alteration or deletion of responsive data on the cloud storage location?
- Do I know who has access to cloud storage locations that can help me search or preserve responsive information?
