Emergencies are a given these days, which means that there is no better time than now to make a plan for a worst-case scenario or potential litigation. There are three simple steps that can be taken now to make sure all potential electronically stored information is safe, accounted for and available.
The days are gone in which you can move forward with eDiscovery without evaluating your process and understanding your responsibilities. You have the duty to preserve what may be relevant ESI when a legal action is reasonably anticipated. Understanding this will help you search through, seek, secure, and locate ESI with greater ease. Imagine going through the crises of 2020 and realizing that you do not have an understanding of the types, categories and locations your electronic evidence may be stored. Since most eDiscovery is being done remotely these days, trying to organize people, time frames and locations of data will be more difficult if you are not organized. There is no need for that kind of stress now thanks to what technology has done for law.
EDiscovery Game Plan is a Must
The first step before anything can be done is coming up with a game plan and knowing what is needed in your eDiscovery system. Create a checklist so that processes, workflows, responsibilities, and roles are covered. Identify what data sources and categories you will need to preserve, collect and eventually review and produce. As long as this checklist is organized properly and meticulously, the flaws in the eDiscovery system should be minimal to non-existent. You should take your time with this step as this is the basis to making sure all of your information is taken care of.
The second step is to ensure you have a partner or employee that you can rely on. While the process can be made easy, not having a clear understanding of workflow, process, or rules can create complications. Making sure your partner is familiar with proven eDiscovery processes along with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence is necessary for a smooth experience. This person or team can also serve as a coach to help explain the eDiscovery process, different types of workflows, help you prepare for the meet and confer and ensure you stay on task and on time.
If you haven’t started embracing technology and working remotely yet, the third step is to jump on board. This crisis alone has proved how important being able to get tasks done remotely is, and will remain in the eDiscovery space. There are very few times that eDiscovery work can’t be taken care of remotely and securely, which means all of your tasks can be completed by you or a partner from the comfort of their office or home office location. This updated technology allows you to preserve, collect, process, review, and eventually produce all of your electronically stored information conveniently and accurately. If you have a plan in place, working remotely will fall into place with ease.
Get Help with EDiscovery Services
Starting the eDiscovery process doesn’t have to be difficult, which is why our expert advisors are here to walk you through the planning process. Give us a call at (617) 348-9360 to start working with us today.
If you’d like to learn more about EDiscovery technology and advancements then we encourage you to visit our affiliate company, Datamine Discovery. Datamine Discovery is an EDiscovery services provider who solely specializes in providing EDiscovery consulting services to law firms and legal departments throughout the United States.