eDiscovery for Dummies---A Free Copy

Are you new to the world of virtual discovery?  First off all, welcome.   

E-discovery involves all of the aspects of civil-litigation discovery, and applies it to electronic information.  If you are foraying into this tech version of discovery, be ready to hear words like metadata, spoliation, ESI, and raw data.  If your eyes aren't already glazed over, relax.  There is lots of help, and luckily most of it is available in just a few convenient clicks.

One way to get up to speed is to read the book for e-discovery newbies---not suggesting you are a dummy in any way---titled "Electronic Discovery for Dummies".  And the book is actually available for free through RenewData.

At base level, the e-discovery process is key because it preserves information in documents that printed versions cannot retain.  For example a printed copy of an email received will not show features such as who the email was BCC'd to, hidden information, or any metadata---such as information about the email's size, attributes, location.  And, an email can be altered relatively easily to add recipients, delete content, or otherwise change the original document.  The dynamic nature of e-documents creates unique discovery challenges that the field of e-discovery endeavors to address.

To tackle the e-discovery black box, firms are increasingly engaging e-discovery companies to manage and facilitate their electronic discovery needs.  E-discovery enables users to search text for original sources, rather than sifting through stacks of paper.  It can improve accuracy and offer a level of organization of discovery materials that is not possible with physical documents.

So, again--welcome to e-discovery and we hope you are a fast reader.

Related Resources:

• Electronic Discovery - The Way Ahead (ExpertLaw)
• Managing an Online Document Review (FindLaw)
• FindLaw's Interactive Guide to Electronic Discovery (FindLaw)