Page 97 - Leaders in Legal Business - PDF - Final 2018
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production, and presentation.3 If an organization has litigation on a regular basis, ideally it
should have processes in place for handling each of these phases.
Information Management
Information management is an ongoing program that actually precedes litigation, but it is
included in the EDRM because a client’s ability to successfully navigate the e-discovery process
relies in part on its information management practices. The more information a client has, the
greater the risk that information poses, particularly when the client does not understand why it
creates, uses, and saves that information.
Ideally an organization’s information policy is developed with the input of
representatives from various departments, including legal, records, compliance, human
resources, and key business units that will share insight into the potential risks and give input on
retention guidelines for each category of data. The goal is to preserve data only as long as it is
needed for operational or legal reasons.
One important caveat: Establishing an information management program and/or
disposing of records pursuant to the retention program are tasks that should be done in the
ordinary course of business and not in connection with specific litigation. Disposing of data in
anticipation of or at the onset of litigation is a red flag to courts and opposing counsel, increasing
the risk of potential sanctions.
Identification
Once litigation (or an investigation) actually ensues, the first phase of e-discovery is
identification of potentially relevant information. Part of this process is working with the client
— particularly its legal team and IT personnel — to determine the scope and budget for the
project and to learn about the client’s systems.
It is important to identify custodians who have potentially relevant information, narrow
the range of dates applicable to the litigation, and determine where relevant information might be
located. Once these pieces of information are assembled, counsel can more accurately estimate
the volume of potentially relevant data, create an e-discovery budget, and assess any potential
risks.
Organizations that have regular litigation may find it helpful to construct a map
identifying types and locations of data that may be potentially relevant to litigation or an
investigation. A comprehensive data map can serve as a starting point for cost-effective,
defensible discovery responses and will avoid the time and expense of duplicative preliminary
legwork in future litigation. The most useful data maps include the following information:
the subject matter and relevance of information;
the primary data sources, location, and accessibility of information;
the status of the system (e.g., when it was commissioned, decommissioned, retired, or
upgraded);
the person or persons responsible for maintaining the systems and/or data; and
3 EDRM, Electronic Discovery Reference Model Stages, http://www.edrm.net/resources/edrm-stages-explained.
83
should have processes in place for handling each of these phases.
Information Management
Information management is an ongoing program that actually precedes litigation, but it is
included in the EDRM because a client’s ability to successfully navigate the e-discovery process
relies in part on its information management practices. The more information a client has, the
greater the risk that information poses, particularly when the client does not understand why it
creates, uses, and saves that information.
Ideally an organization’s information policy is developed with the input of
representatives from various departments, including legal, records, compliance, human
resources, and key business units that will share insight into the potential risks and give input on
retention guidelines for each category of data. The goal is to preserve data only as long as it is
needed for operational or legal reasons.
One important caveat: Establishing an information management program and/or
disposing of records pursuant to the retention program are tasks that should be done in the
ordinary course of business and not in connection with specific litigation. Disposing of data in
anticipation of or at the onset of litigation is a red flag to courts and opposing counsel, increasing
the risk of potential sanctions.
Identification
Once litigation (or an investigation) actually ensues, the first phase of e-discovery is
identification of potentially relevant information. Part of this process is working with the client
— particularly its legal team and IT personnel — to determine the scope and budget for the
project and to learn about the client’s systems.
It is important to identify custodians who have potentially relevant information, narrow
the range of dates applicable to the litigation, and determine where relevant information might be
located. Once these pieces of information are assembled, counsel can more accurately estimate
the volume of potentially relevant data, create an e-discovery budget, and assess any potential
risks.
Organizations that have regular litigation may find it helpful to construct a map
identifying types and locations of data that may be potentially relevant to litigation or an
investigation. A comprehensive data map can serve as a starting point for cost-effective,
defensible discovery responses and will avoid the time and expense of duplicative preliminary
legwork in future litigation. The most useful data maps include the following information:
the subject matter and relevance of information;
the primary data sources, location, and accessibility of information;
the status of the system (e.g., when it was commissioned, decommissioned, retired, or
upgraded);
the person or persons responsible for maintaining the systems and/or data; and
3 EDRM, Electronic Discovery Reference Model Stages, http://www.edrm.net/resources/edrm-stages-explained.
83
