The Ingersoll Firm

Some of the Benefits of Building an ESI Data Map

1. Knowing WHERE your data is, HOW it is stored, and the TIME period for which the data is available is the cornerstone of a defensible approach to electronic discovery.  It also the cornerstone to developing  effective records management, records retention, and litigation hold policies and procedures.
2. Educate IT staff (and others) about the concept of electronic discovery…helps ensure organization is prepared
3. Reduce risk of sanctions due to the company destroying or not producing ESI
4. Helps reduce risk there won’t be enough time to adequately prepare for the 26(f) meet and confer
5. Helps with cost shifting strategy because counsel can make specific and particularized statements about not reasonably accessible ESI
6. Reduces random and unexpected disruptions of IT staff
7. When a court or regulatory body controls the timeline for discovery response, risks increase, including:
   1. 1. Increased risk of spoliation
      2. Inadvertant destruction
      3. Overlooking potentially relevant/responsive ESI
      4. Reinventing the wheel
8. Risk management is more effective as counsel is making informed decisions regarding electronic discovery costs, burdens, and risks.
9. Aids the internal case strategy (go to trial? settle? negotiate?) development because the organization knows:
   1. What ESI it has,
   2. How accessible the ESI is (reasonable vs. not reasonably accessible)
   3. Challenges of collecting, processing, reviewing, and producing the ESI
10. Improve litigation hold process
    1. The design:  WHAT ESI repositories exist
    2. Implementation:  WHO to contact
    3. Implentation:  remove disconnect between policy and what happens on the back end IT systems
       1. Close gap between policies and reality
11. For publicly held companies helps improve transparency of processes relating to records management and retention
12. SEC, IRS, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is enhanced
13. Reduces opposing party’s ability to exploit disconnect between stated policies and reality
14. Reduces chance of an adverse inference instruction due to unintentional destruction based on "routine operations" (data map identifies systems at risk for this type of situation)
15. In a better position to negotiate favorable scope of discovery as a result of confident mastery over the technology infrastructure of one's client
16. More realistic understanding of how burdensome it will be to comply with discovery requests targeting ESI
17. More prepared for discovery conferences

WHAT does an ESI Data Map Look Like? 

Schedule a live demonstration with The Ingersoll Firm to find out!

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