Digital White Papers

LITIGATION AND PRACTICE SUPPORT 45 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER Discovery and Litigation Support Without a Lit Support Department For firms and companies that do not have dedicated litigation support staff or a litigation support department, it is imperative that any discovery management follow basic tenets to ensure "good data" are managed. Whether you are an aorney, paralegal, administrator or work in information technology, there are mainstream and straightforward workflows you can utilize to maintain a clear record of discovery information while controlling risk and cost. Plan Your IT Strategy Oen, the scope of electronic files needed from a client or business unit will require an IT or ediscovery specialist to participate in strategy discussions and planning to ensure correct information is addressed in the evaluation, discovery and post-discovery activities. There is an obligation to consciously consider information in a knowledgeable manner to ensure appropriate handling of the correct data occurs. Because the metadata for each electronic file can be altered with basic Windows functions such as copy and paste, this step should occur early in evaluating a case so a pristine data set can be available should the need arise. Every litigator should understand or consult those who are knowledgeable in how data can be collected to preserve the metadata most efficiently for each case. Information must be sent from its home environment to the legal team in every case — whether for initial review/evaluation or for discovery. Law firm or legal department IT specialists should plan ahead to manage the data. The inherent danger to a law firm/legal department is they have to store, access and work with discovery files, so they inherit every defect. The challenges in addressing data that do not originate in your organization include: by Cindy MacBean Discovery and Litigation Support Without a Lit Support Department

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