When will business "get" records management?

It was on the very last day of the Qualcomm v. Broadcom Corp., S.D. Cal. 05-cv-1958-B (SLM) trial that a Qualcomm witness--while being cross examined-- revealed that she knew of certain events becuase she had seen a relevant email. Yes, after repeated assurance by Qualcomm that all relevant evidence had been brought forward, it turned out that 10s of thousands of email records had not been recognized as relevant...or...some wonder...had been recognized as relevant and deliberately not brought forward.

The truth of that matter is less important than the simple fact that the question arises ONLY because Qualcomm does not really "get" records management. If it did, a solid governance framework, well educated and RM compliant workforce with position related competencies for the management of information resources would be in place.

Am I harsh? Well, a very successful business owner here in Hong Kong has said, "it is a crime if CEOs do not effectively manage knowledge resources for the benefit of the firm."

I could not have said it better myself. Qualcomm, however, blamed it on their lawyers for not asking for the right stuff--and the judge agreed. Heads up, barristers, how are you managing your own evidence of advice to clients?