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Use of email in court proceedings

Electronic information is potentially admissible before courts of law, although evidential weight is called into play.

Email that is centrally managed and stored in a way that cannot be tampered with improves its evidential weight. This increases a company's chances of being able to use email evidence offensively in litigation rather than being limited to having email used against it.

Recent high profile fraud cases such as at Enron have hinged upon proving who knew what, when, and have required the forensic investigation of email history. More day-to-day court proceedings concerning harassment, contract law etc. can also hinge on email evidence, which can be used by or against the organisation.

In these circumstances it is in the organisation's interest to be able to present a complete and accurate record of email discussions which is 100% tamper-evident and easily searched by those with authority to do so. Critically, if you can prove that 'email can't be shredded' you can not only show that an email was sent, but also that it wasn't.

Interestingly, some organisations' initial response to this issue is to be concerned that a compliance level email repository will store evidence that might incriminate them, and therefore is somehow a bad thing. However, more detailed thought usually leads responsible organisations to the conclusion that corporate governance is essential to a successful business. More than ever in the post-Enron world, it is clear that if anyone is breaking the law within a company, it is in the company's long term interest to be able to discover it, stop it, and assist the authorities fully with any legal action required. This in itself is naturally a deterrent against illegal actions by employees and owners.

If you would like to contact a member of our consultancy team today please either telephone or email;

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