E-Discovery & Records Management

In today’s digital environment e-discovery is a standard, and frequently challenging, part of the litigation process. Squire Sanders has the resources to assist clients in effectively addressing the exponentially increasing role that electronically stored information plays in litigation and our clients’ businesses. Our team of experienced professionals, composed of lawyers and technology staff, is able to lead or consult on all aspects of the e-discovery process, providing guidance in many areas including data preservation, review strategies, cost control and vendor selection. We understand e-discovery as a business process and can offer effective and reasonable solutions.

Controlling Costs

Due to the volume of electronically stored information, document review and production is often the most expensive part of the discovery process, particularly in large cases. It is important to have a team that is focused not only on achieving litigation objectives but also on doing so in a cost effective manner. We are well-versed in best practices for e-discovery and experienced in the use and selection of vendors and contract service providers. Our goal is to deliver high-quality results and to do so at a cost that is appropriate to the size and nature of the case. Our attention to cost-saving strategies and the exercise of reasoned judgment to produce reasonable and proportional discovery responses allows us to do so.

Intelligent E-Discovery

The deluge of discoverable information that modern litigation triggers is often difficult to manage with traditional strategies that rely on page-by-page review. Intelligent e-discovery approaches combine review by experienced trial lawyers with automated analysis and prioritization of potentially relevant documents to deliver reliable and cost-effective results. We are experienced with both the technology and the legal issues involved in these approaches. And, unlike many other firms, we are not wed to a specific technology or review platform. We evaluate the e-discovery issues our clients are facing on a case by case basis and select and oversee the vendors and consultants best situated to promote efficiency and minimize cost for that matter. Using our experience and internal preparation efforts, we are able to employ advanced technology and strategies to significantly reduce discovery costs in a manner that is transparent, reasonable and legally defensible.

National E-Discovery Counsel

As e-discovery counsel for regional, national and global companies, we oversee and coordinate the processes followed, legal arguments advanced and evidentiary records developed at all stages of litigation. Using Squire Sanders as national e-discovery counsel on all of your litigation matters allows for the development of an effective system to advance consistent positions regarding e-discovery issues in various cases; realize efficiencies in e-discovery processing through application of uniform e-discovery techniques and vendors; and avoid charges of spoliation or other adverse consequences through defensible retention and collection policies and practices.

Our team continuously strives to provide the highest quality services in a cost-effective manner that supports our clients’ needs. Our menu of services as national e-discovery counsel includes:

• Developing legally defensible document and data retention, backup, archiving and destruction policies;
• Data mapping;
• Developing effective document production procedures and policies to ensure consistency of application;
• Training employees on e-discovery procedures;
• Preparing responses to pre-litigation preservation letters and implementing litigation holds;
• Developing appropriate key search terms and techniques;
• Assisting local counsel in e-discovery negotiations and court conferences;
• Preparing responses to written discovery requests concerning e-discovery issues;
• Handling motions to compel and motions for protective orders;
• Taking and defending e-discovery-related depositions; and
• Retaining and managing outside vendors.

Squire Sanders is a sponsor of The Sedona Conference^® and members of our team participate in The Sedona Conference^® working groups for Electronic Document Retention and Production, and International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure. In 2011 a member of our team was elected executive vice president on the board of the Association of Litigation Support Professionals (ALSP), which seeks to establish "global professional standards for the litigation support profession through collaboration, education and certification." Our entire litigation support team belongs to the ALSP.