It could be one of those chilling moments in business - a dispute looms between your company and a supplier or customer and you realise that all the documents you need to support your case have either been lost or so mismanaged that you may lose your case rather than win it.

Effective document control is both an obligation and essential good practice for any business.

Filing and archiving documents created by a company may seem a dull preoccupation but, as litigators, we can testify that companies pay dearly for failing to keep track of documents, failing to file methodically and for carelessness with records. Well-maintained documents give litigants an advantage and limit legal costs.

The presentation of contemporaneous documents can be crucial in commercial disputes, especially when the Judge is faced with conflicting verbal evidence from both sides. The early extraction and analysis of relevant documents, when a dispute arises enable both you and your lawyers to predict with much more precision the likely outcome of a claim before costs are allowed to escalate.

If you do litigate you are likely to have to disclose all relevant documents in your possession, custody or power in advance of trial. Your opponent will be under a similar obligation. This highlights the importance of avoiding the creation of damaging documents which may have to be disclosed to your opponent. Bear in mind that the meaning of "documents" is construed widely by the Court and includes, among other things, computer databases, e-mail, tape recordings, microfiches, plans and videos.

Michael Boyd is a partner at commercial lawyers, Pinsent Curtis.

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