The E-Discovery Process
E-discovery is an evolving business process comprised of various stages. The most generally accepted depiction of the entire e-discovery process can be found in the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Project.
Launched in May 2005, the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Project was created to address the lack of standards and guidelines in the electronic discovery market - a problem identified in the 2003 and 2004 Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery surveys as a major concern for vendors and consumers alike. The completed reference model provides a common, flexible and extensible framework for the development, selection, evaluation and use of electronic discovery products and services:
Records Management
Developing and implementing an effective records management program is a complicated, time-consuming task that requires a multi-faceted team of professionals committed to fully understanding the business and the types of records created by the company.
Identification
Electronic data is often in the form of e-mail, which can be difficult to sort, catalog and store. It's crucial that a company manage its e-mail as effectively as it does its paper records.
Preservation
Finalizing a record often means creating drafts, notes, calculations, correspondence and copies, all of which can be managed in various ways to adhere to a retention policy and free up storage space.
Collection
Metadata, or embedded data about data, is included in almost every electronic document imaginable, and can figure prominently in litigation.
Processing
A variety of legal restrictions govern the storage and disposal of corporate records. Find out how to avoid running afoul of them.
Review
Audits of a record-management program can assure an organization that its internal standards and practices are being followed and that its compliance with legislation and regulation is legally defensible.
Analysis
Audits of a record-management program can assure an organization that its internal standards and practices are being followed and that its compliance with legislation and regulation is legally defensible.
Production
Audits of a record-management program can assure an organization that its internal standards and practices are being followed and that its compliance with legislation and regulation is legally defensible.
Presentation
Although this stage comes last in this list, think of it as the first. Consider early and often how you can most effectively present the electronically stored information at depositions, hearings and trial. If, for example, you want a key witness to walk though a live spreadsheet at trial, you better not have produced the file only in paper form.