Despite continuing challenges ranging from international regulations to a steep learning curve for litigators, the company expects to see “ongoing, long-term progress” in large part to a “clear focus on efficiency and technology.
“Combining research that Exterro has conducted, along with other industry-leading surveys and reports, the State of E-Discovery Report is a comprehensive and dynamic view into the trends and challenges currently facing the e-discovery industry,” said Bill Piwonka, CMO at Exterro. “It is clear from the data in this report that e-discovery practitioners are seeing significant progress in their ability to operate efficiently by approaching e-discovery as a business process and taking advantage of innovations in technology.”
Exterro’s 2018 State of E-Discovery Report represents its effort to generate an annual report in the absence of regular, comprehensive studies into e-discovery.
“As e-discovery enters into maturity in its own right, no longer just a techie younger brother to the traditional discovery process, it merits a comprehensive analysis,” according to Exterro.
The report found legal department managers and executives are turning toward bringing e-discovery in-house as a way to improve efficiency, transparency and control to the process. In general, companies are also preserving more data, retaining 90% of email messages and attachments, as well as 89% of office files, 77% of database files and 55% of audio files.
Though, 62% of e-discovery professionals who responded to the survey said they are concerned about custodian deletion or modification, representing the biggest concern measured. Of those asked, 17% report fears IT would accidentally delete data.
The report also found the greatest challenges to e-discovery will come from international regulations, namely Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the evolving tech and legal landscape, according to the company.
As such, the company recommends commissioning a GDPR compliance audit, which would allow a GDPR Compliance Manager to asses where a firm is compliant and where gaps might exist.
Further, creating a data map to keep track of where it is stored and what tools already exist, and how to search and filter that data, would also be helpful. And, another long-term goal would be to create an “automated work flow” to include GDPR-compliant privacy controls.
A survey of federal judges highlighted, there is also still a learning gap for counselors expected to advise clients on e-discovery matters. According to the report, less than 25% of the 30 judges asked agree with the statement: “The typical attorney possesses the legal and technical subject matter knowledge required to effectively counsel clients on e-discovery matters.”
In addition, a fall summit will offer attendees a chance to hear directly from industry experts on how they perceive the state of e-discovery. From September 30 to October 3 in Chicago, Illinois, e-discovery software company Relativity will be hosting its annual Relativity Fest.
The 2017 meeting featured a panel of judges, including Nora Barry Fischer, Xavier Rodriguez, Andrew Peck, and Australian Justice Peter Vickery, according to information from Relativity.