Electronic Discovery Process - Essay Example

E-discovery or electronic discovery is a process in which electronic data, is sought, placed, protected, and searched for criminal or civil legal cases. E-discovery can be done both offline and online. Hacking with the sanction of the court or government is also included in e-discovery. Any data (images, text, spreadsheets, animation, audio files, etc.) in the e-discovery process can be taken as evidence in legal procedures. Emails are also taken as evidence in the process of e-discovery. E-discovery has both positive and negative sides. The pros of e-discovery can be identified as follows:
1. E-discovery can help in understanding considerable litigation efficiencies.
2. E-discovery helps in searching electronic documents and media quickly and fairly accurately.
3. The process of e-discovery saves time and money as it is capable of searching documents faster than humans and at a cheaper rate.
4. Metadata and system data supply additional information regarding electronic documents and dealings of computer users that were not available with traditional paper discovery.
5. E-discovery helps paralegals to manage large-scale reviews faster and easier.
The cons of e-discovery are also important and they can be identified as follows:
1. The e-discovery process needs more computer knowledge and so the lawyers will inevitably need the help of IT professionals to locate, recover, protect, and convert data into an easily and accurately usable form.
2. Attorneys must give significant time and effort to understand and develop new approaches to e-discovery as they are not well versed in the technique.
3. It may be difficult to find the required document because of the huge volume and distribution of electronic documents.
4. The help of computer experts may be necessary at any time due to the complexity of new technology.
5. E-discovery can increase cost in terms of discovery costs. Read More