Get your house in order with Early Data Assessment: Part I

http://ow.ly/7aC12

An article by  George Socha and Alon Israely published on the website insidecounsel.com.

This article discusses Early Data Assessment (EDA) and how it fits with the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) diagram.

The article states, "Picture the EDRM turned 90 degrees to the left, so it stacks up vertically. From that angle, the data makeup of a legal matter’s possibly relevant Electronically Stored Information (ESI) forms the bedrock for successful data preservation, collection, analysis and review strategy. At this nascent stage, Early Data Assessment becomes important."  A link to the EDRM website is provided in the article.

The article further points out that EDA is not equivalent to ECA (Early Case Assessment).  The authors point out, "The EDA process is not to be confused with Early Case Assessment which typically relates to assessing legal liability. By contrast, Early Case Assessment usually happens at the onset of a matter as inside or outside counsel assess the viability of a matter, compare it against similar past matters, determine whether insurance coverage may come into play, make decisions about what counsel to retain, and engage in other similar activities focusing on evaluating the entire case early."

The article provides further insight as well, and discusses the relationship between in-house counsel, and law firms.  The article states, "Corporate law departments working with outside counsel can have two overriding goals with respect to EDA:...1. Get the (big) picture on electronic data; and 2. Precision is key".  A discussion of both of these topics is provided in the article.

P.S. Apparently there is more to come on this topic, as this is said to be Part 1 of a series.