Extract from Cat Casey’s article “Common Mistakes in eDiscovery, and How to Avoid Them”
Few things strike more fear in the heart of a young associate or even a rainmaker partner than the prospect of a large, complex, and potentially expensive eDiscovery matter. The fear of Electronic discovery is nothing new, and stems from a few very logical sources. The most obvious is that cases or investigations with a massive amount of electronically stored Information (ESI) are often high stakes and high profile and threat of sanctions may loom in the horizon. But the more often source of the ESI heartburn is the fact that nearly no attorneys go to law school in hopes of diving into relational databases, statistics, and the dreaded metadata!
With high profile eDiscovery mishaps, like accidentally producing a client’s entire cell phone to opposing counsel, splashed across the headlines it is of little surprise that some folks are shook! Fear not! There are some simple things that legal teams from law firms to in-house can do to avoid eDiscovery’s biggest mistakes! This post will demystify the process, highlight the most common mistakes, and offer practical guidance on how to sidestep them, or how to get back onto the eDiscovery bike if you hit a speed bump along the way!
eDiscovery Mistake #1: Playing Ostrich with eDiscovery
Many legal professionals found themselves on the path to law in some art because of an aversion to math and science, or simply more of a proclivity to excel in the liberal arts. That discomfort combined with the perfectionism that is rife in eDiscovery makes the fear of eDiscovery make more sense. No brilliant legal mind wants to get tripped up because they are diving into a process and an industry that is unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable.
