The demands of litigation, particularly the need to identify, preserve and collect large quantities of electronically stored information (ESI), continue to challenge litigants both large and small. But “e-Discovery” is a fact of life in almost every case, and dozens of decisions in the state and federal courts emphasize the importance of complying with e-Discovery obligations and how careless or even inadvertent handling can affect the outcome of a case.
What Will You Do When…
Your company is served with a lawsuit or subpoena and the other side seeks all of your records including correspondence, contracts, invoices, account histories, your email and even your voice mail.
- How would you go about finding everything?
- Is the other side really entitled to it?
- Where is ESI hidden and how hard do you have to look for it?
- How might this affect the case?
- How much would it cost and who bears the cost?
- What can happen if there’s an issue?
- Is there any way to get a handle on this in advance and limit the damage?
The e-Discovery Team at Partridge Snow & Hahn can help.
An Ounce Of Prevention
Having a plan for responding to document requests alleviates some of the cost and anxiety when a subpoena or complaint is served. PS&H advises clients on best practices in managing documents and ESI before litigation is initiated and preserving these records when a dispute arises. We assist clients by developing policies and procedures for electronic records management, preparing e-Discovery readiness programs and conducting training on:
- ESI retention and destruction policies
- Electronic communication policies
- Litigation hold protocols
- Internal business e-Discovery readiness teams
A Pound Of Cure
Once litigation commences, PS&H's e-Discovery team has the tools to handle the collection, review and production of large amounts of ESI and the experience to guide clients on strategies to avoid unnecessary discovery disputes and protect against excessive costs of unreasonable requests. When litigation is imminent or has been filed, we help clients with:
- Implementing litigation hold procedures
- Conducting initial case evaluations and identifying custodians of key information
- Selecting appropriate e-Discovery vendors
- Preparing cost-effective discovery strategies and plans
- Performing efficient document collection, processing, review, privilege-logging and production
