To: All Relevant Employees/Departments
From: Chief Legal Counsel of Bank
Date: [Send out as soon as C brings action against Bank OR as soon as Bank anticipates lawsuit, whichever is earlier]
Re: IMPORTANT PRESERVATION NOTICE -- PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY
As you may know, C, child of D (a deceased former customer of Bank) has filed suit against Bank in the [court name] claiming breach of trust and self dealing, as well as related claims, arising from the sale of apartment building by Bank to B. Apartment building was formerly owned by D and became an asset of a trust created by D before his death. Bank is trustee of D's trust.
In that connection, it is important that we preserve all records, including electronic materials, that may be relevant to the legal proceedings. Accordingly, until further notice, please preserve and do not destroy documents that relate to the following topics for the [relevant time period]:
-All documents relating in any way to the creation and operation of D's trust; - All documents related in any way to communications between Bank employees and D regarding D's trust and/or the apartment building;
- All documents related in any way to communications among Bank employees regarding D's trust and/or the apartment building;
- All documents relating in any way to T's recommendation and Bank's decision to sell the apartment building;
- All documents relating in any way to the decision to retain independent real estate broker to recommend the asking price for the apartment building;
- All documents relating in any way to prior dealings between Bank and independent real estate agent;
- All documents relating in any way to independent real estate broker's recommendation regarding the asking price for the apartment building;
building to B;
3 I 627542.00C
KAYE SCHOLER LLP
- All documents relating in any way to the negotiation and execution of the sale of the apartment building to B;
B; and
- All documents relating in any way to Bank's employment and/or termination of
building.
- All documents relating m any way to Bank's mortgage on the apartment
The above-listed topics should be construed broadly. If there is any doubt regarding whether a document should be retained, you should err on the side of caution and retain it.
This directive applies to records in any form, wherever kept. The definition of "documents" includes, for example, all letters, e-mails, instant messages, drafts, informal files, desk files, handwritten notes, faxes, memoranda, forms, calendar entries, address book entries, voice mail, and any other records stored in hard copy, or any electronic form (such as Palm Pilot or Blackberry), or any other medium, whether at the office, home, or anywhere else, that relate in any way to the topics described above. Under no circumstances should any documents relating to the topics listed above be destroyed. If your files contain duplicate copies of documents, all must be preserved if they are non-identical (i.e., they contain annotations); otherwise, duplicates may be discarded.
Regarding e-mail communications, I have been in contact with our IT department in order to ensure the preservation of electronic material on the Bank e-mail system. However, if you use or have ever used personal internet e-mail accounts, such as hotmail or yahoo, for Bank business purposes, please contact me or someone else from the Legal Department immediately so that the requisite steps may be taken to preserve any potentially relevant material stored on those accounts.
It is essential that all individuals who report up through you and who might have such documents and materials are made aware of these instructions. Please share this communication with them.
It is of critical importance to Bank that you comply with these procedures. Employees must take every reasonable step to preserve this information until further written notice from [Bank Legal Department]. Failure to abide by these instructions could result in extreme penalties against Bank and could form the basis oflegal claims for spoliation.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding these instructions, please contact me [or designated contact] at [phone number] immediately. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Litigation Hold Letter Dear
Georgia College ("GC") has reason to believe that litigation may result from the claim of [name of claimant] that [brief description of potential claim]. OR The University System of Georgia has learned that [name of litigant] has filed a lawsuit for [brief description of claim]. This letter does not mean that you are necessarily involved in the dispute. However, GC is now under a legal duty to preserve all evidence, whether printed or electronic that might become relevant to this matter. Some of this information may be in your possession or control, and as a GC employee, you have a legal duty to preserve that information. The purpose of this letter is to explain to you what that obligation means.
A team of [name members of team] has been charged to manage this situation, and has identified the following information as being potentially relevant to the dispute: [describe general subject matter of information]. That information may be located in: [identify likely source locations]. You are required to take the following steps immediately to protect and preserve any of that information that is in your possession or under your control until further notice. Specifically, you will need to do the following immediately:
1. Suspend deletion, overwriting, or any other destruction of electronic information relevant to this dispute that is under your control. This includes electronic information wherever it is stored - at your GC work station, on a laptop, or at home. It includes all forms of electronic communication - e.g., e-mail, word processing, calendars, voice messages, videos, photographs, information in your PDA. This electronic information must be preserved so that it can be retrieved at a later time. You can be assured that nothing will be produced for the other side without first being appropriately reviewed and private or privileged information removed. The information must be preserved in its original electronic form, so that all information contained within it, whether visible or not, is also available for inspection - i.e., it is not sufficient to make a hard copy of electronic communication. The IT department will attend to the preservation of electronic information on the server and on back-up tapes, if that is called for. Your responsibility is for the information that is under your control.
2. Similarly, preserve any new electronic information that is generated after you receive this letter that is relevant to this dispute.
3. Preserve any hard copy under your control.
This is an important legal duty and failure to follow these instructions may subject you to discipline, as the failure to preserve this information has very serious consequences for the university.
The team that is managing this situation can be available to meet with you to further explain your obligations or respond to any questions you may have about this litigation hold.
B