Digital forensics refers to a branch of forensic science pertaining to legal evidence found in computers and digital storage media. Closely associated with digital forensics, electronic discovery (e-discovery) refers to discovery in civil litigation using electronically stored information. Additionally, many firms routinely engage in data collection and informal investigations related to personnel matters, violations of company policies and security breaches that never involve the legal system but nonetheless typically fall under the umbrella of e-discovery.
Why should companies be concerned with e-discovery? Today, electronic documents are used in roughly three out of four discovery cases and e-discovery represents about one-third of the total cost of litigation. Depending on the amount and type of data involved, e-discovery could be enormously expensive. Poor document management and retention practices are enough to get you in trouble. If you are unable to produce requested evidence, the Court presumes that the lost evidence would have supported the other side’s claims. Thus, with the rising need for more streamlined e-discovery processes and procedures within organizations, more and more IT firms are entering the growing e-discovery market, innovating new technologies such as integrated litigation hold platforms, more efficient and user-friendly data collection software, and advanced search tools.
CompTIA’s recent study, E-Discovery Trends and Practices, confirmed among the majority of IT professionals (53%) as well as attorneys (88%), that firms are increasingly engaging in e-discovery and the trend should continue in the coming years. As the volume of digital information continues to expand considerably within organizations, it follows that the potential need for e-discovery will only intensify. For more than half (59%) of organizations from a variety of industries, e-discovery is typically performed in-house. IT staff are usually involved, as well as legal departments, CEOs, CIOs, and human resources.
While many organizations engage in e-discovery, only half of organizations have a formal e-discovery strategy. Challenges organizations face in implementing a comprehensive e-discovery strategy include cost/funding (40%), lack of understanding of legal terms and processes (21%) and lack of understanding of the e-discovery process itself (20%).
Given the growing need for e-discovery expertise within all organizations, VARs and IT service providers can capitalize on this growing market by a number of mechanisms. For example VARs can:
- Recommend employees train and obtain certification in e-discovery
- Keep informed in regulatory revisions associated with e-discovery such as the December 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Become familiar with technologies used for e-discovery such as data encryption and decryption technologies
- Learn and follow industry best practices for conducting e-discovery
- Be a resource – e-discovery is an emerging practice and many are in need of information/expertise
- Help firms manage information systems to facilitate identification and location of relevant data
- Take advantage of synergies with other types of work your firm may already be doing for clients (e.g. security, data storage/archiving)
- Develop a strategy for entering or growing your legal client base. Many attorneys expect to greatly increase their use of e-discovery and many will require additional expertise/resources.
CompTIA’s E-Discovery Trends and Practices study was fielded via an online survey to nearly 700 IT professionals and 300 attorneys the U.S. in October 2009. The full report is available at no cost to CompTIA members. Go to the members section of CompTIA.org or contact research@comptia.org for details.
