I made a bad call recently, and it is about time that I own up to it. Back in March, I spoke on an InsideCounsel web seminar along, “Expected Changes to Federal Sentencing Rules: How They Impact Every Company,” with Eric Sedwick from Contoural discussing the proposed changes to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines (FSG) are advisory standards for federal courts to determine penalties for both individuals and organizations for Class A felonies and misdemeanors. These guidelines also outline ethics and compliance programs for organizations that, if followed, can reduce the potential fines organizations face from the criminal acts by up to 95 percent.

One of the changes to the guidelines considered for this year pertained to specific requirements for document retention as part of already-required compliance programs. During the web seminar we discussed the increased importance of document retention in light of these changes, and practical ways to become compliant. I announced that these FSG document retention requirements were going to happen and organizations should get ready now.

I was wrong. Based on comments from the Association of Corporate Counsel and other organizations that these changes would be too to onerous implement for many organizations shortly after the webinar, the Federal Sentencing Commission dropped the document retention components of the proposed amendments. While the final updates will not officially go into effect until November, it is unlikely that this year's changes will include document retention.