eDiscovery
Chapter 1 -
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1 provides the student with a general overview of the discovery phase of litigation and explains how changes in communication, specifically the evolution of electronic communication, impacts litigation and case management. The explosion of electronically stored information, development of novel types of electronic communication, and real-time electronic connectivity have created opportunities and challenges for the legal and business professional alike. Businesses generate data at a pace and volume never contemplated before, which increases productivity, innovation and global collaboration. The downside of advanced electronic communication is redundancy, data management and storage issues, as well as maintaining overall control of the data environment. Careers specializing in data management and information governance have emerged to assist businesses understand and control the creation of data, flow of data, and retention goals within an organization.
Legal professionals have likewise experienced the impact of this data explosion. The discovery phase of litigation involves the disclosure and exchange of relevant information needed to resolve disputes. As the population of potentially relevant data has increased, so too have the challenges associated with identifying, accessing, reviewing and producing information through discovery.
Chapter 1 introduces the student to these changes and challenges, along with an overview of what constitutes electronically stored data. Since the emergence of the internet, the legal profession has encountered discovery disputes associated with what type of data is discoverable, how to protect confidential or privileged data, and how to limit or reasonably control costs when faced with overwhelming data volume.