3 Ways the Cloud is Changing eDiscovery

A recent InsideCounsel webinar titled Cloud E-Discovery: Solving the Right Problems with a Modern Approach  raised some though-provoking ideas about the cloud and it’ effect on eDiscovery.

The session, which counted a well-balanced panel representing corporate legal operations, legal technologists and cloud vendors, presented both challenges and opportunities for eDiscovery in the cloud.

The presentation – which included an interesting debate on the impact of data forensics – put forth a range of ideas including these three we found to be noteworthy:

1. Another data source for eDiscovery?  One panelist noted that most lawyers see the cloud as just one more data source for eDiscovery – another “headache.”  Yet he also pointed out that if an enterprise hosts its data in the cloud, eDiscovery tools can be hosted right alongside that data which may simplify the process.

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Related eDiscovery content:
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2. Placing legal holds in the cloud.  Hosting data may provide certain advantages when it comes to holds and collections.  The panel used mobile devices, with automatic cloud backup as an example noting it’s far easier to place a hold on data that is replicated in the cloud than it is to “pry” devices from a 100 employees who are geographically disbursed.

3.  Law firms as a point of IT weakness.  Law firms are about to be “bombarded” with messages that law firms represent the weakest technology link or the soft underbelly of corporate America.  The panel seemed to generally agree that the cloud makes it possible to achieve a level of security that few firms could achieve independently.

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A notice at the end of the webinar indicated the session was recorded and available for viewing on demand after the event has ended.  It ran about an hour long.

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Photo credit: Flickr, tracyshaun (CC BY-SA 2.0)