How Does in-House EDiscovery Help?
eDiscovery is a process executed to help legal teams and departments sort, cull and retrieve relevant electronic data as proof for litigation. The results can tremendous, and now there is an overwhelming increase in the demand for eDiscovery solutions. The complexity of the process can cause many corporations to seek help from outside sources, but those same corporations are gradually awakening to the fact that outsourcing is often an expensive endeavor. Organizations are now taking the initiative to implement in-house eDiscovery solutions in order to cut down on those heavy expenses. In doing so, it is essential that companies first evaluate the nature of their eDiscovery process and which segment should be in-sourced to generate favorable ROI. There are also other factors that govern the decision for implementation of in-sourced electronic discovery solutions:
·Transparency – In-house eDiscovery solutions facilitate cost visibility for the duration of the eDiscovery process, and also assess its effects on the entire management.
·Control - Managing the data, people and tools in-house gives better insight into eDiscovery search performance and also minimizes the risk involved in trusting outsiders with internal investigations.
·Greater efficiency - You can build your data and processes, thus reducing your costs over a span of time. With every case you will gain experience and become proficient in collecting, processing, analyzing and reviewing documents. There is no need to hire new people or install new software for each new case. When any organization decides to implement an in-house eDiscovery solution, they should follow these tips:
1.An eDiscovery solution should have the capacity to perform all the processes defined by the EDRM standard. It should be adept in information management, identification, preservation and collection, processing and early case assessment, providing concise data to the legal team for review. If the eDiscovery solution fails to serve its overall purpose, it only adds to your woes.
2.Companies who plan to use in-house eDiscovery should insist on using an open integration platform that supports various email systems, storage and archiving systems, content and document management systems. When the data is migrated from one server to another, the system should be able to read from both servers. The eDiscovery tool’s versatility is the key to an effective eDiscovery process. It should read data from desktops, laptops, shared file servers, PCs, content management systems and storage systems as well.
3.The performance of in-house eDiscovery tools should not waver in the absence of employees, and should have a flexible schedule that can be processed with no disturbance to normal functions.
4.The tools should be compatible with corporate records and management policies such as data back-up, migration, etc., to avoid any accidental data deletion.
5.The eDiscovery solution that you implement should be able to identify stored information with relevance to content type, access time, system location and size, and create a complete profile of that data so you are aware of the liabilities and can respond quickly to legal requests.
6.The solutions provided should not alter the existing data while moving or copying it. It is essential to maintain data in its original form.
7.All relevant information should be available when required for any legal or auditing purpose before the
collection process is completed. This means that during the process of collection and preservation, the solution should be capable of providing data that has been saved and indexed.
8.Any processing action should not change the original content. Attaching digital signatures validates the authenticity of the content before and after the collection process.
9.Searching for items, terms and language in files, emails and attachments accurately is what makes eDiscovery solutions worth the investment. Performing critical search operations with complicated language helps reduce the cost and time of the companies.
10.Invest in a solution that is easy to use and maintain. Many organizations are beginning to understand the value of in-house eDiscovery for internal investigations. The costs that can be saved, the reduction of time lost when responding to legal requests , the better handling of internal data storage and management are some of the advantages that are prompting organizations to adopt this new approach. eDiscovery solutions, eDiscovery , eDiscovery tools, early case assessment