This document provides an overview of the key concepts in electronic discovery (eDiscovery). It discusses what eDiscovery is, the large volumes of electronically stored information (ESI) that exist, and how ESI is considered under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It then outlines the main stages in the eDiscovery process according to the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM): preservation, collection, culling and analysis, review, and production. Trends in eDiscovery like cost constraints, proportional discovery, and predictive technologies are also summarized. The presentation aims to educate clients on effective collaboration with law firms for eDiscovery.
3. What is eDiscovery? Discovery in a litigation which deals with the exchange of information in an electronic format Referred to as Electronically Stored Information or ESI in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Amendments to the FRCP took effect in December, 2006 Certain mandatory requirements under Rule 26(f) Explicit class of discoverable materials named “Electronically Stored Information” (ESI) Some states beginning to follow the FRCP (39 states adopted similar requirements, including CA)
4. How much data? “Every two days we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003.” Eric Schmidt, Google CEO Sept. 2010
5. How much data? April 2010 estimate: around 29.4 billion emails sent per day Approx. 350,000 emails per second
6. For example … Types: “Loose files”: Word, Excel, PDFs Email: Outlook PSTs, Lotus Notes, NSF (Lotus Notes), Gmail Databases Shared data: SharePoint, Wikis, Google docs Social Media: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Where is it found? Computers, servers, the “cloud,” back-up tapes Smartphone, ipad, external HDs, flash drives
8. Preservation Litigation “holds” Why? Legal duty to preserve any potentially relevant or discoverable data Sanctions: Spoliation Qualcomm Zubulake v. UBS Warburg Identification and preservation ESI sources Computers, servers, cloud, smartphones, Back-up tapes: (FRCP vs. California Rules) “Accessible” or “inaccessible” sources
9. Another way to consider ESI Setup & Planning Collection Culling & Analysis Review Production Processing
97. Eamonn Markham, Esq. Eamonn is the General Counsel and a Discovery Consultant at SFL Data. About SFL Data: SFL Data is the first e-discovery service provider to deliver a fixed-price managed service that enables Fortune 500 corporate legal departments and law firms to gain a world-class e-discovery function without building it. The outcome – dramatically reduced litigation costs (over 50%), better control and visibility, and defensible results. SFL Data’s clients include Oracle, multiple other leading corporations, and more than 100 AmLaw 250 law firms. Proprietary processes, domain experts who’ve led IT and discovery at 7 law firms, testifying collections experts, best-in-class software, attorney-driven project management and an infrastructure for Fortune 50 corporations lead to clients sleeping at night and returning to us repeatedly.
