Discovery is a legal process designed to be fair to all parties involved in a lawsuit. Without specialized technology put in place, discovery can become daunting for lawyers and clients alike. In some instances, in litigation, third parties are brought in to find information stored in different apps and the cloud.
The more information the better? According to financesonline.com “2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day”. The cloud has become the forefront of data management. A cloud entity can store all types of information, share files, and back up data that previously would not have been. With the cloud storing every ounce of information we generate; thousands and thousands of documents stay maintained and protected through litigation.
Once a party is asked to turn over years of evidence that they intend to use at trial, they may need an entire team of legal professionals to look over their documents. Obtaining client information and flipping it to become easily digestible can speed up time spent while looking through the discovery. Today, over 90% of documents are generated electronically. This pushes law firms and organizations alike to embrace the new way discovery is foraged, processed, and stored.
Discovery is due anywhere from 20 to 30 days after first presented to the client. Thus, having the means to gather all that is needed or go through all of what has been collected has now become a greater task than ever. Attorneys and paralegals often use tools to carefully expedite the discovery process, including using Optimal Character Recognition to find specific key words. Collaboration is optimized especially when discovery is provided virtually, as documents are easy to electronically highlight, share notes, and collaborate on.
Through Continuing Legal Education courses, OVB Law & Consulting, S.C. has stayed updated and informed with the best practices in protecting, retrieving, and gathering discoverable data. Although something may be “deleted”, cloud-based storage systems harness files many years old. Always remember that nothing is ever truly “deleted” in modern day technology.
“2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day” – Financesonline.com
