When organizations ask, “Can’t we collect our documents ourselves?” the answer is simple. You can, and not only can it cost less (on the face of it, at least) and go more quickly, but you get to tell the judge all about it when you become a witness.
Even with the availability of off-the-shelf collection tools, there are risks associated with do-it-yourself eDiscovery. Namely, it puts the burden of data identification, preservation and collection on the individual employee. They must have a clear understanding of (and adhere to) standard protocols for self-collection. If done incorrectly, the organization will, at a minimum, pay the added cost of re-doing the collection, which also can delay the litigation, investigation or regulatory response. If data is lost, the client could suffer financial penalties or sanctions, all while employees who otherwise would not be subject to deposition become inviting targets for interrogation.
The shift of office employees to remote work means that collection is even more fraught with risk as employees commingle personal data, home networks and corporate data – leading to new sources of potentially relevant ESI that is created, managed, shared, and potentially improperly stored or deleted (whether purposeful or inadvertent).
Adopting a proportionate and defensible remote collections strategy
Join us in one of our New Ways to Work interactive live webinars, “Adopting a proportionate and defensible remote collections strategy,” on Tuesday, May 12, 11:00 – 11:30 am ET | 4:00 – 4:30 pm BST. OpenText eDiscovery and forensic collection experts will discuss emerging challenges and provide best-practices approaches for remote forensic collections.
Our experts will discuss steps to a successful, defensible and proportionate remote collections strategy, and will address the following topics:
- What systems data can be collected from in a “near normal” state (e.g., email)
- Anticipating data collection challenges from nontraditional data sources
- Generating a data map with IT to access enterprise or cloud data sources
- Prioritizing key custodians’ data sources
- Determining the scope
- Cost considerations and implications
- Jurisdictional considerations (e.g., encryption, GDPR data transfer)
- Post-collection steps and what to do next
Learn how an expertly designed and executed process can far outweigh the lost time and potential risks of going it alone.
Register for the live webinar here.
For more information on OpenText eDiscovery and legal technology solutions, please visit our website.
