Electronic Discovery

The Data Revolution

More than 99 percent of business information is now produced, stored and communicated in electronic forms such as e-mails, databases, spreadsheets and word processing documents. This expanding information deluge of the 21st century dramatically impacts the litigation discovery process as electronic data presents special problems not known in the paper world.

Electronic data is voluminous. Litigants frequently work with thousands of gigabytes of data, and one gigabyte of text data, if printed, would fill the bed of a pick up truck with paper. Data is also created in hundreds of different software applications and computer operations and stored across networks on desktops, servers, backup tapes, portable disks and thumb drives, just to name a few possible locations. And data, unlike paper, is easily deleted, modified, overwritten and lost. Each of these data features creates special discovery, evidence, and litigation problems.

Industry Leaders On Your Side

Holland & Knight has responded to this discovery revolution with its national E-Discovery Team to help our clients manage and navigate this new world, which presents both great peril and great opportunities. Our e-discovery attorneys are at the forefront of the e-discovery revolution and are active members of cutting-edge think tanks such as the Sedona Conference and the Georgetown Advanced E-Discovery Institute. Holland & Knight attorneys have authored important e-discovery articles and are regularly requested to present seminars to the judiciary, the bar, and our clients on the best practices and the future directions in e-discovery.

Data Location Preservation

Whether facing litigation or an investigation, frequently the first e-discovery obligation is to locate and preserve relevant data in its various locations. Holland & Knight's E-Discovery Team works with our clients to find and preserve the critical data. Our skilled e-discovery lawyers have assisted a wide array of clients to economically and efficiently meet their preservation obligations and avoid the harsh potential sanctions of spoliation of evidence.

Data Management Plans

Frequently, our data preservation efforts are the first step in the development of a data management plan. Our E-Discovery Team works with Holland & Knight' compliance attorneys to create data management plans which recognized each client's special business culture and needs while making business information readily available and eliminating unnecessary stored data-- a significant cost driver in the event of litigation. Our E-Discovery and Compliance Teams ensure your data management plan will afford the protection available under the safe harbor provisions of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Data Collection and Review

Often the greatest litigation cost is the selection, collection and review of data. It is absolutely critical to cull the right universe of documents and work with the best vendors for your case. The Holland & Knight E-Discovery Team guides our clients through the critical decision-making process of key word- or contextual-based searching and whether relevance and privilege reviews should be undertaken by an in-house team, contract lawyers or off-shore providers.

Electronic Evidence

E-discovery ultimately means utilizing data to your advantage. Our goal is to present your case as forcefully as possible. Our e-discovery attorneys are highly skilled in the admissibility and use of electronic data in the court room, whether the issue is establishing a proper chain of custody or the introduction of forensic data obtained from inaccessible computer locations. Moreover, the Holland & Knight team is well trained and experienced in shifting the cost of burdensome and marginal electronic discovery to the requesting party.

Our E-Discovery Focus

The focus of our E-Discovery Team is to make e-discovery manageable, cost-efficient, understandable, and ultimately a force in your favor.