Although emerging technologies are now being adopted in today’s Digital Age, they come with one major risk in the form of cyber threats. Market analysts believe that this ongoing trend of digitalization — and the vulnerabilities that come with it — will spur the eDiscovery market to expand rapidly within the next decade.
This phenomenon is already apparent today: both private practices and public regulatory bodies across the globe are now using eDiscovery. In its piece on eDiscovery for beginners, career experts LHH explain that it’s instrumental in the preparation for cases that involve electronic evidence.
However, eDiscovery also presents a number of challenges — and if these are not addressed, one cannot apply it to its fullest potential. Below we list a few of the most common challenges and briefly outline how to tackle them.
Data management
One persisting challenge in dealing with data is that the world produces it at an astonishing rate. In 2020, we produced roughly 59 zettabytes (ZB), or 59 trillion gigabytes, of data. This is expected to increase to a whopping 175 ZB by 2025. For legal professionals who have to comb through all this data, these numbers can be daunting. Fortunately, we now have the technology to efficiently deal with Big Data.
Costs can be saved by storing data in cloud centers instead of installing and maintaining in-house servers. Meanwhile, the eDiscovery process can be streamlined with the help of automated tools like machine learning — an offshoot of artificial intelligence — and data analytics. Such software can be trained to quickly sift through large amounts of data while accurately organizing and tagging only the pieces of information that are relevant to specific cases.
Resistance to change
Clients are increasingly unable to pay for their services. This so-called legal “affordability crisis” finds many litigants choosing to represent themselves in court. Though using processes that automate eDiscovery can streamline the legal supply chain and make services more accessible, the industry’s busy and conservative nature makes it difficult for legal organizations to adapt. That’s why it’s crucial to plunge head-first and invest in these digital tools to further improve your eDiscovery strategies.
The main way this can be accomplished is by setting up effective means of communication and collaboration between IT staff and legal professionals. Integrating data experts into your eDiscovery team will relieve your lawyers’ workload and ensure they can more effectively utilize the insights gleaned from this process. On the whole, we’ve emphasized that proactively adopting new technologies for eDiscovery will save you time and money in the long run.
Data security
The data processed via eDiscovery tends to be sensitive in nature, ranging from confidential communications and trade secrets to private information. Hackers specifically target this data, especially if they’re looking for a profit. That’s why it’s crucial for legal organizations to create comprehensive guidelines where cybersecurity and eDiscovery intersect.
When building your eDiscovery team, don’t just assign lawyers and hire data specialists, bring in cybersecurity specialists as well. They can assess the networks you use for eDiscovery, and pinpoint vulnerabilities. They can then forward solutions like encrypting sensitive information, improving access control, and outlining procedures to follow in the event of a data breach. Cybersecurity professionals familiar with your field can further help conform these strategies to your organization’s needs — so your team can focus solely on conducting eDiscovery in the most efficient way possible.
Though it’s true that eDiscovery is usually a hassle to do, it’s more crucial now that both emerging technologies and cyber threats are entering the mainstream. By identifying the challenges you may encounter, you’ll be better prepared to overcome them.
Source: Plato Data Intelligence: PlatoData.io