Extract from David Steinfeld, Akshita Singhal & Lianna Vaughan’s article “What Are Litigation Searches?”
Litigation searches in the context of electronic discovery refer to researching recorded matters that involve the opposing party. Searching for other legal actions involving a party may uncover beneficial information about their data and handling thereof that can aid your eDiscovery actions in a dispute.
What Is eDiscovery?
As you know, discovery is the action in a civil dispute by which parties exchange and obtain information from each other and parties outside the dispute. Discovery can include
- Interrogating the opposing side
- Asking that party to admit certain facts in admissions
- Requesting documents through subpoenas
Discovery can also occur through face-to-face interactions called depositions. Depositions can include parties in the dispute or those external to it.
eDiscovery, or electronic discovery, is the process of obtaining digital information in a lawsuit or civil dispute. Given how people now use technology in their daily lives, from computers and email to social media to GPS systems in cars, eDiscovery permeates every civil dispute to some extent. The potential benefits of pursuing the data are often weighed against the cost of performing eDiscovery. Luckily, eDiscovery is much easier and affordable now than it was ten years ago, thanks to technological advances.
