Please help me find legal records management resources.

September 7, 2012 8:59 AM

Please help me find legal records management resources.

I have recently started a new position within the legal division of a government[-ish] agency and more and more I am getting the sense that the department wants me to revamp their records management system. Trouble is my background isn't really in legal records management [I have worked mostly in archives and libraries] so I was wondering if there are any resources out there for best practices when it comes to the organization of legal records [especially resources available online]. I think the department's current procedures for disposition are pretty sound, and the retention schedule will not be an issue, it's just...everything else. Any assistance is appreciated!

posted by rokabiri to Law & Government (3 answers total)

I manage a large records management environment. I don't have a ton of time for professional development as the product chosen by the legal team is incredibly, ridiculously, and constantly broken.

However, I asked a member of the legal team what blogs and other online resources he uses, he provided these three:
http://www.ediscoverylaw.com/
http://www.aiim.org/
http://www.arma.org/

Also, you may want to go on more than "getting a sense" as far as revamping the entire system. Has anyone said anything concrete? Is there a budget for it? Will that mean changing systems?

Changing systems would entail migrating records from one system to another, which can be very expensive and time consuming. TransVault is a company that does migration.
posted by MonsieurBon at 9:07 AM on September 7, 2012

Sort of depends on what kind of records, eh? You could start by exploring what similar agencies with recent overhauls behind them have done.....
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:10 AM on September 7, 2012

Ask over on RECMGMT-L, they will have great answers for sure.
posted by Blake at 10:06 AM on September 7, 2012