eDiscovery Top Answers

We discovered that many people are unsure as to what eDiscovery is and what it is used for, so we created a list of common questions and answers about eDiscovery. If you are looking for additional information, feel free to email your question to info@utahdatarecovery.com.

Why is eDiscovery important?

The amount of electronic data which can be used as evidence is growing daily as people conduct electronic transactions, interact with others via cell phones, and use network or internet based services. Many crimes are committed electronically, and details of the case must go through an e-discovery process to determine the scope of the crime scene.

Because personal devices are so connected to their apps and the servers and providers they use, our devices create a lot of interactive data. This data can be put on timelines, thus increasing the amount of data available for your legal team to discover. Many systems connect together to exchange information, making ediscovery a critical step to limiting risk and analyzing events before litigation. The procedures and practices are complicated enough to require educational courses from the providers in order to understand and implement.

What is an eDiscovery platform?

An ediscovery platform is a tool used for collecting, analyzing, and reporting information of an setting and its connected devices. Although the basic steps of collecting, analyzing, and reporting exist for all industries, many platforms specialize in a specific field. These fields include: health care, financial services, corporate environments, and law enforcement.

Most providers offer training on their products to help with deployment and usages. Electronic discovery can take time and involve many pieces of information from several devices and the equipment involved or effected. Because of this, providers offer instructional courses on their products. Any part of the process can become overwhelming without a good system for cataloging evidence. The success of your legal team with digital crimes involves key factors which isn’t always readily apparent. A software system can help an analyst review a case from many angles.

What is the role of relativity in the eDiscovery field?

Relativity is a privately owned e-discovery software platform provider branded by the company kCura in 2017. They compete against companies like Epiq Systems or Symantec with complete e-discovery platforms. Relativity is offered as a on-premise or in-cloud solution and they have instruction courses offered either with an instructor or a web course to help companies from the initial software on-boarding process all the way to preparation of documents for litigation. Because of the large learning curve for deployment and operation, there several tiers of certified partners who are able to provide services such as setting up the software or reviewing data for preparing legal documents. The company even has an international client list of large businesses and legal firms.

What is eDiscovery in healthcare?

Ediscovery in healthcare is a delicate balance with the ever changing scope of legal compliance for state and federal laws along with evolving the technology to retain records and information for 10 years or more. This particularly long span introduces challenges as information is maintained between system upgrades or migrations. It becomes more complex if there are multiple service providers involved in a particular case. With instances of litigation on the rise involving improper medications or wrongful death, ediscovery is critical for the healthcare industry.

Companies like Exterro and Harmony Healthcare IT offer training and e-discovery programs tailored to the needs of clinics, hospitals, and other health care facilities.

As digital records replace traditional client charts and paper, data becomes indexable for easy searching and reporting. Even with digital records, important details can be easily lost within the system. Additionally, phone calls and messages should be included in the discovery process unless calls are recorded. In that case only the metadata about the call is retained.

What are eDiscovery tools?

E-discovery tools are specialized software programs which allow an organization to collect, preserve, analyze, and and report upon digital evidence. These tools are bundled together in an end-to-end platform solution. While the functions of ediscovery tools are similar, these platforms are customized to address the needs of particular environments and industries. Generally, there is a degree of instruction, training, and certification necessary to use e-discovery tools. Most platforms offer training and certification programs to help with the onboarding process of a solution. Some providers have a certification process and partner with certified companies to provide installation and consultation work for companies who wish to implement a platform.

What is Microsoft eDiscovery?

E-discovery for Microsoft Office 365 is a feature of the security and compliance center which allows administrators to identify evidence and export the content found in their products like OneDrive, Sharepoint, Teams, and online mailboxes.  Microsoft has a tool for searches and building cases in the security & compliance center to allow for better control of data within your company. With the amount of data involved, operations in the search or other functions may take some time to complete. These tools classify data, manage governance and retention, view threats, and trace the flow of data through Office services. The Microsoft Office 365 Security & Compliance center also has tools to assist with the requirements of GDPR.