Symantec: Files, Databases Overtake E-Mail in E-Discovery

http://ow.ly/6xx2S

Article by Evan Koblentz posted on law.com on the LTN webpage.

As the article states, "E-mail is no longer the most requested type of electronically stored information in e-discovery, having been eclipsed by application data, database records, and documents, according to a new Symantec report."

The article discusses results of a recent Clearwell-Symantec survey, "Respondents gave a surprising answer to a question about how frequently various types of ESI are requested during legal and regulatory processes. Files and documents are requested in 67 percent of situations, followed by application and database records at 61 percent, and e-mail at 58 percent, they said. Microsoft SharePoint records are requested 51 percent of the time, while messaging formats such as instant messaging, texts, and BlackBerry PIN messages are needed 44 percent of the time. Data from social media trailed, being needed for 41 percent of ESI requests."

The article provides the following additional information in the concluding paragraph, "Companies with formal retention policies are 64 percent faster to respond to e-discovery requests than companies without such policies, the survey asserts. Such companies are also 78 percent less likely to be sanctioned by courts, 63 percent more likely to automate legal holds, and 45 percent less likey to disclose too much information, it found."

P.S.  SRM Legal is a valued Silver level partner for Clearwell in 2010, and has reached Gold level status as a Clearwell partner in 2011.