The Five (or Six) Steps of Electronic Discovery
When a client is hit with a request for electronically-stored information, it is useful to think globally about what has been set in motion--a discovery process that will extent over some period of time and encompass some universe of information. There are five major steps that the client will need to be prepared for:
(1) Strategy: what is the preservation obligation; what is being requested; where is it stored, and in what form; who knows how to get it, etc.;
(2) Collection of Data: how will the data be retrieved;
(3) Preparation of Data: in what form will the data be presented;
(4) Review of Data: is any data privileged or confidential; what are the key documents, etc; and
(5) Production of Data.
Savvy counsel will also want to go through a sixth step, which is to debrief with their client and talk about what went right, what went wrong, and how to make the process go smoother in the future.
Credit: Mary Mack & Matt Deniston, A Process of Illumination: The Practical Guide to Electronic Discovery 42 (2004).
