Paulette Keheley

In today's digital age, the legal industry has had to adapt to new methods of preserving, collecting, and producing electronic evidence. This process, known as eDiscovery, plays a crucial role in legal proceedings. Understanding the ins and outs of eDiscovery processing is essential for legal professionals and anyone involved in litigation.

eDiscovery is often thought of as a dry and technical process, but it can also be seen as a social justice issue. In recent years, there has been an effort to increase diversity in the legal profession, and eDiscovery software can play a role in leveling the playing field.

Discovery entails a fair amount of detective work for lawyers, as they comb through files and records searching for information that will support their case and provide evidentiary value. There are times, however, when professional investigators need to be brought in to dig deeper into available data and conduct more thorough analyses. Digital forensics, also known as cyber forensics, is a crucial field that deals with the investigation and analysis of digital evidence to uncover and prevent cybercrimes. The need for digital forensics has become increasingly important in both criminal and civil cases. This article explores the key concepts, challenges, and tools used in digital forensics, as well as the different branches it encompasses.

Litigation is a term often heard when speaking with legal professionals or even while watching some movies or TV shows. The word “litigation” is usually confused with the similar term “lawsuit.” They are both related but are not to be used interchangeably.

Attorneys have many tools at their disposal during the discovery process, but one that often goes criminally overlooked is the FOIA request. Although it is not applicable to all cases and lawsuits, a FOIA request can be incredibly helpful when legal teams believe government agencies possess information or documents that could support their cases.

Litigators and eDiscovery consultants alike have debated for years the best methods to create litigation budgets. Assuming that most cases settle, eDiscovery can account for a significant portion of the costs, so that is often the best place to start. eDiscovery fees can vary significantly between vendors, and you will need to consider the possibility of flat fees, per-gb hosting fees, per-gb processing fees, user fees, service fees, and more.

Preservation of electronically stored information (ESI) is an extremely important part of eDiscovery, and involves issuing appropriate legal holds to prevent destruction of potential evidence and material relevant to a case. It also protects lawyers, law firms, and clients against claims of impropriety and negligence. Discovery guidelines, as outlined in Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, make it very clear that both sides of legal counsel have a duty to preserve all ESI that could provide evidentiary value and ensure its integrity.

If you find eDiscovery to be an arduous, time-consuming process, you’re not alone. Many lawyers struggle to efficiently conduct eDiscovery, even with the help of clerks or paralegals. There’s an enormous amount of data to collect, preserve, and produce for any given case. A law firm could tie up resources in this one critical process alone for weeks or even longer.