- Published: December 30, 2021
- Updated: December 30, 2021
- University / College: Pennsylvania State University
- Level: Undergraduate
- Language: English
- Downloads: 27
Aug. 10, End of Term E-discovery or electronic discovery is a process in which electronic data, is sought, placed, protected and searched for the purpose of criminal or civil legal cases. E-discovery can be done both offline and online. Hacking with sanction of court or government is also included in e-discovery. Any data (images, text, spreadsheets, animation, audio files, etc.) in e-discovery process can be taken as evidence in legal procedures. Emails are also taken as evidences in the process of e-discovery. E-discovery has both positive and negative sides. The pros of e-discovery can be identified as follows:
1. E-discovery can help in understanding considerable litigation efficiencies.
2. E-discovery helps in searching electronic documents and media quickly and fairly accurately.
3. The process of e-discovery saves time and money as it is capable of searching documents faster than human and at a cheaper rate.
4. Metadata and system data supply additional information regarding electronic documents and dealings of computer users that were not available with traditional paper discovery.
5. E-discovery helps paralegals to manage large-scale review faster and easier.
The cons of e-discovery are also important and it can be identified as follows:
1. The e-discovery process needs more knowledge about computer and so the lawyers will inevitably need the help of IT professionals to locate, recover, protect, and convert data into an easily and accurately usable form.
2. Attorneys must give significant time and effort to understand and develop new approaches to e-discovery as they are not well versed with the technique.
3. It may be difficult to find the required document because of the huge volume and distribution of electronic documents.
4. The help of computer experts may be necessary at any time due the complexity of new technology.
5. E-discovery can increase cost in terms of discovery costs.
“ The New York Times approached e-Discovery from the perspective of jobs. The effectiveness of e-Discovery, as it turns out, is stealing jobs away from lawyers, which is having a noticeable effect, especially in the current economy” (Armies of Expensive Lawyers, Replaced by Cheaper Software p. 2). The e-discovery, in short, has both positive and negative aspects. From the perspective of paralegal employees the process of e-discovery is advantageous when the technical knowledge is high other wise it can increase the work load. However, if one considers the merits of the advantages, they certainly outweigh the disadvantages.
Work Cited
Armies of Expensive Lawyers, Replaced by Cheaper Software. The New York Times. 2011.
Web. 10 Aug. 2011.