Litigation Readiness

Prior to litigation arising, it is critical for involved parties to assess the available means for data collection . It is important to identify where all potentially responsive information resides within the corporate data structure and also gauge what data falls into the scope of being reasonably accessible. Proper guidance is needed because any source of information that is not deemed reasonably accessible can still be called upon if the requesting party shows good cause. In addition to identification of data, proper planning can dramatically reduce response time and minimize the burden of discovery requests by enabling tools to strategically target and extract specific information.

These practices will allow you to react quickly and effectively when a discovery request is made. Specifically, consideration should be given to the following: Assess data storage methods and retention policies Analyze risk of current methodology Identify people, processes and technology that make up the discovery response plan Identify gaps in existing processes and the risk of each Identify opportunities for short and long term improvement Collaborate with consultants to mitigate identifiable risk Audit records management, retention, and litigation hold processes for both electronically stored information (ESI) and paper