Electronic Legal Discovery Process
An Electronic Legal Discovery Process is a task-specific document discovery process that supports producing relevant information as legal evidence.
- AKA: E-Discovery, eDiscovery.
- Context:
- It can be influenced by various legal standards and practices, which dictate the methods and protocols for data preservation, collection, analysis, and production.
- It can an interdisciplinary approach, combining legal, technological, and information management skills to navigate the complexities of digital evidence.
- It can be supported by an e-Discovery System (possible based on an e-discovery platform).
- It can (often) involve stages such as:
- It can (often) involve stages such as:
- Electronic Legal Discovery Identification: The process of determining potential sources of relevant electronically stored information (ESI), including devices, servers, cloud storage, and databases.
- e-Discovery Preservation Stage: Taking steps to ensure that identified ESI is preserved and not altered or deleted during the course of the investigation or litigation.
- e-Discovery Collection Stage: Gathering the identified electronic data from various sources in a forensically sound manner to maintain its integrity and authenticity.
- e-Discovery Processing Stage: Converting and organizing the collected data into a format suitable for review and analysis.
- e-Discovery Review Stage: Evaluating the processed data to identify relevant information, as well as privileged or confidential material that may not be subject to disclosure.
- [e-Discovery Analysis Stage]]: Examining the reviewed data to understand its significance and potential impact on the case.
- e-Discovery Production Stage: Delivering the relevant electronic information to the opposing party or to the court as required by the rules of the legal process.
- …
- Example(s):
- the e-Discovery Process at Casepoint, LLC, where advanced technologies and AI are utilized to streamline the identification, preservation, collection, processing, review, analysis, and production of ESI.
- the e-Discovery Process at a Major Law Firm, which employs a team of legal, technological, and information management experts to manage the complexities of e-discovery across a range of litigation cases.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Electronically Stored Information (ESI), Civil Procedure, Litigation, Freedom of Information Law, Digital Evidence, Spoliation of Evidence, Casepoint, LLC.
References
2023a
- (Open AI ChatGPT, 2023) ⇒ https://chat.openai.com Retrieved: 2023-8-6.
- Q: What is Electronic discovery?
- ChatGPT Answer: Electronic discovery, often abbreviated as e-discovery, is the process of identifying, collecting, preserving, reviewing, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in the context of a legal investigation or litigation. This term is commonly associated with legal proceedings, such as lawsuits, where the discovery phase involves the exchange of relevant information between parties to the case.
With the increasing use of digital technologies and electronic communication, much of the information that could be relevant to a legal matter is now stored in electronic formats. This includes emails, documents, databases, social media posts, instant messages, audio and video files, and more.
The e-discovery process typically involves the following steps:
- 1. Identification: Determining potential sources of relevant electronic information, including devices, servers, cloud storage, and databases.
- 2. Preservation: Taking steps to ensure that the identified electronic information is preserved and not altered or deleted during the course of the investigation or litigation.
- 3. Collection: Gathering the identified electronic data from various sources in a forensically sound manner to maintain its integrity and authenticity.
- 4. Processing: Converting and organizing the collected data into a format suitable for review and analysis.
- 5. Review: Evaluating the processed data to identify relevant information, as well as privileged or confidential material that may not be subject to disclosure.
- 6 Analysis: Examining the reviewed data to understand its significance and potential impact on the case.
- 7. Production: Delivering the relevant electronic information to the opposing party or to the court as required by the rules of the legal process.
- E-discovery plays a crucial role in modern legal practice because it enables lawyers and parties to efficiently sift through vast amounts of electronic data to find pertinent evidence or information that can support their claims or defenses in a case. Additionally, it helps ensure that all relevant information is disclosed, promoting fairness and transparency in the legal system. Due to the complexity and technical nature of e-discovery, specialized software and experts in digital forensics and legal technology are often employed to assist in the process.
2023b
- (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_discovery Retrieved:2023-8-6.
- Electronic discovery (also ediscovery or e-discovery) refers to discovery in legal proceedings such as litigation, government investigations, or Freedom of Information Act requests, where the information sought is in electronic format (often referred to as electronically stored information or ESI).[1] Electronic discovery is subject to rules of civil procedure and agreed-upon processes, often involving review for privilege and relevance before data are turned over to the requesting party.
Electronic information is considered different from paper information because of its intangible form, volume, transience and persistence. Electronic information is usually accompanied by metadata that is not found in paper documents and that can play an important part as evidence (e.g. the date and time a document was written could be useful in a copyright case). The preservation of metadata from electronic documents creates special challenges to prevent spoliation.
In the United States, at the federal level, electronic discovery is governed by common law, case law and specific statutes, but primarily by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), including amendments effective December 1, 2006, and December 1, 2015. In addition, state law and regulatory agencies increasingly also address issues relating to electronic discovery. In England and Wales, Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules [2] and Practice Direction 31B on Disclosure of Electronic Documents apply. [3] Other jurisdictions around the world also have rules relating to electronic discovery.
- Electronic discovery (also ediscovery or e-discovery) refers to discovery in legal proceedings such as litigation, government investigations, or Freedom of Information Act requests, where the information sought is in electronic format (often referred to as electronically stored information or ESI).[1] Electronic discovery is subject to rules of civil procedure and agreed-upon processes, often involving review for privilege and relevance before data are turned over to the requesting party.
- ↑ Various (2009). Eoghan Casey (ed.). Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation. Academic Press. p. 567. ISBN 978-0-12-374267-4. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ↑ Ministry of Justice, PART 31 - DISCLOSURE AND INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS, accessed 11 September 2022
- ↑ Ministry of Justice, PRACTICE DIRECTION 31B – DISCLOSURE OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS, last updated 1 October 2020, accessed 11 September 2022
2017
- (ATL, 2017) ⇒ http://abovethelaw.com/2017/01/how-artificial-intelligence-will-revolutionize-ediscovery/
- QUOTE: AI has been enhancing the eDiscovery process, in the form of technology-assisted review, for years now. TAR, along with standard features like threading, batching, and encryption, gives Casepoint all the functionality that lawyers need to fulfill their obligations around discovery. … a feature … which will help lawyers not just satisfy their discovery obligations, but also make better strategic decisions in litigation.