What Is E-Discovery?
When companies sue or get sued, they are required to produce electronic evidence like e-mail, voicemail, instant messages, office documents, databases, and any other data that could be potentially relevant to the case. Exchanging this electronic evidence with the opposing side is called e-discovery.
The process of preserving, collecting, processing, and reviewing data from even a small IT system can be extremely expensive and time-consuming. And if this process is managed improperly, the company may be forced to settle because of the high cost, or risk being sanctioned (often fined) by the court.
Many cases are won or lost because of the way evidence is handled. Companies are routinely sanctioned (fined or ruled against in court) due to their poor handling of the e-discovery process. In essence, e-discovery is a compliance obligation: federal and state laws require that organizations demonstrate "good faith" in the management of their information systems.
This means that companies must have solid e-discovery processes and well-implemented policies that support their efforts to preserve and produce electronic evidence. They must:
- Protect potentially relevant data from being deleted or modified
- Implement and follow company policies regarding the retention and destruction of records
- Comply with all regulatory compliance obligations (HIPAA, PCI, Sarbanes Oxley, etc.)
- Enforce processes and policies through technical means
- Pay all of the costs associated with their own discovery efforts
Electronic Discovery Reference Model
The EDRM provides an excellent view of the e-discovery process from start to finish. Please visit www.edrm.net for more information:
www.edrm.net