E-Discovery Law

E-Discovery Law refers to the rules that govern the discovery process in evidence gathering for civil proceedings. E-Discovery allows users to process, search, and review electronically stored information during a lawsuit. Historically, the discovery process has involved obtaining witness testimony and the exchange of paper-based documents and evidence, but as the use of technology has increased, so too has the discovery process evolved.

It also requires sensitivity to matters of duration and expense, as cost control remains one of the significant concerns about e-Discovery, especially in comparison with traditional discovery.

E-discovery can be helpful both during litigation when lawyers search through documents to answer questions and proactively as a tool for preserving evidence just in case things ever get to court.

Electronically stored information (ESI) is any document, image, e-mail, instant message transcript, accounting database, video, website, or other electronically-stored information that could be relevant evidence in a lawsuit.

Much of e-discovery is the same as traditional discovery, except for electronic, intangible evidence. The e-discovery process is formally known as electronic discoveryor e-discoverywhen applied to civil litigation.

E-discovery dictates that companies preserve their digital information so it can be searched, filtered, and reviewed during litigation, whether from a laptop, cell phone, thumb drive, or other storage devices.

Metadata

Managing electronically stored information (ESI) has always been challenging for organizations. Compliance with e-discovery protocols presents additional difficulties. A wealth of technologies and strategies have been created to respond to the specific challenges of e-discovery.

A new class of technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), is emerging as a solution to meet the needs of organizations that need to preserve, manage, and search their ESI. AI can be used to preserve ESI, manage data, and reduce overall costs.