In E-discovery, Show Me the Money
In order to conduct cost-effective e-discovery, you must focus on the "money documents."
January 27, 2015 at 04:38 PM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel
Kelly Twigger of ESI Attorneys is channeling Tom Cruise and his onetime alter ego Jerry Maguire. She says that in order to conduct cost-effective e-discovery, you must focus on showing “the money documents,” otherwise known as those docs that “make or break the case.”
In the face of rising litigation costs, partly because of an influx of electronic documents, she says it's best to narrow the scope of your e-discovery searches. “We are wasting millions of dollars doing discovery badly because we won't learn and cooperate,” she says. To focus on what's important, Twigger suggests analyzing the claims and asking, “Where is the money for the plaintiff? Where is the most liability for the defendant?”
She uses the example of a false-advertising claim: Where would the money be? It would come from damages and attorney fees. So the important documents could be social media posts and celebrity product endorsements. However, in other cases, such as a commercial case between two sophisticated clients that hinges on a legal question, conducting comprehensive e-discovery might not be as necessary. “Think about taking a phased approach to the litigation—putting off discovery until the court resolves the question,” she says.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Trending Stories
- 1BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 2First Lawsuit Filed Alleging Contraceptive Depo-Provera Caused Brain Tumor
- 3The Law Firm Disrupted: For Big Law Names, Shorter is Sweeter
- 4The Growing Tension—And Opportunity—in Big Law Nonequity Tiers
- 5The 'Biden Effect' on Senior Attorneys: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250