What Technology Is Used In E-Discovery?

E-Discovery is a term that is used to refer to the use of electronic information in legal cases. The electronic information, popularly known as electronically stored information (ESI), includes such things as word documents, audio and video information, spread sheets, emails , instant messaging chats, accounting databases, websites, etc.
The initial file formats, which the relevant information is stored in, is known as native format. The forensic investigators may choose to analyze the data in this format or convert the files to other formats that they may deem as necessary or easy to use in the review process.
There are several measures that have been put in place to ensure that the electronically stored information is available if the need arises for an e-Discovery process. The firms are required to archive the information so that it can be retrieved later if needed. Standards have been established and every firm is required to adopt them. The standards are aimed to address the archival systems of the instant messages and the emails that are exchanged over the network.
The importance of e-Discovery is growing and law firms need to appreciate this fact. Nowadays, it is becoming more common for firms to receive discovery requests. Therefore they need to anticipate this fact in an effort to reduce the cost of the process. If the process is performed on data that is not properly managed, the time it will take to perform the exercise will be longer. So, there is a need to be able to anticipate the requests and put in place procedures to address potential problems.
What law firms need to do is hire IT personnel that are able to work in unison with the legal staff to develop a system that will support any efforts toward making the process easier if the need arises (and this need is becoming more common). A proper archiving system will do the trick.
Retention of voicemails of employees is another requirement. If an employee is under litigation, the organization that the employee works for is required to retain all the voicemails related to the employee as it is relevant information that can be used in court as evidence.
Another way through which the e-Discovery is enforced is by organizations issuing custom PDA’s and smart phones. An employee under litigation is asked to return the gadget and this can be used to obtain discoverable content. The evidence gathered is then formatted and made available to the court.