Six steps to avoid the e-Discovery Inferno

Overview

In today's fast-paced, high-tech environment, the printed word is fading fast. Pen and ink are quickly being replaced with electronically stored information (ESI), including emails, instant messages, blog posts and other electronic documents. This data is stored not only on servers but also on desktops and personal devices small enough to fit in your pocket.

This explosion of electronic communications has opened new and creative ways of conducting business, but it has also created new challenges in the way litigation and investigations are conducted. Since communications and other records relevant to any legal matter are often found in electronic format, the methods for collecting, processing and reviewing potentially relevant evidence has changed. The process of finding, identifying, holding, searching, reviewing, producing and presenting electronic data to be used as evidence in a legal or investigative matter is called electronic discovery, or simply e-discovery.