“The process of discovery is very simple.”   Not so, Mr. Thoreau.  While legal discovery may have been a simple matter back when the only written communications were those of an official or handwritten nature, times have changed.  Before the advent of the computer things said or done were safely whispered or verbally discussed behind oak doors. In the twentieth century, things began to be recorded, stored, and often, inescapably archived on the hard drive memories of machines. This phenomenon has created a new body of evidence on which to predicate and prove or defend legal claims around the world. Bring together the electronic age with lawyers and senior executives hidebound in the tradition of pen and paper, and it transpires that many in the world legal community find themselves out of their depth.

Why understanding ESI is important

Electronic discovery, or colloquially “eDiscovery” has fast become the most expensive, most overlooked and least adapted to issue in modern commercial litigation. This paper is a brief entré for every business manager and their attorneys into the world of electronically stored information (“ESI”) and the danger it poses to the unwary in the context of litigation.  

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