Don't Email it If You Don't Want to Defend it Later

Based on some email that I've received over the years, it appears the senders assume that once they send it, it can't come back to haunt them. Not true if the email is being sent from work:

WASHINGTON — If you use e-mail, instant messaging or a BlackBerry at work — smile! Your company is recording everything you do, thanks to new federal rules that go into effect Friday.

According to legal experts, the rules, approved by the Supreme Court in April, require American companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce "electronically stored information" as part of the discovery process, when evidence is shared by both sides before a trial.

The change makes it more important for companies to know what electronic information they have and where.

Under the new rules, an information technology employee who routinely copies over a backup computer tape could be committing the equivalent of "virtual shredding," said Alvin F. Lindsay, a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP and expert on technology and litigation.

For many companies this will pose a significant cost burden as they are forced to retain huge volumes of electronic communication, not to mention what it might cost to recover every email related to a specific complaint. Email is now officially a permanent record, and that's a good thing to remember before you hit the SEND key.