Execs Facing Discovery Challenges

A Deloitte online poll found that two out of five executives felt data volumes in their organizations are becoming unmanageable.

Almost 20% of executives said their companies are not ready to handle complex discovery requests. Their greatest concerns about document discovery included:

Expensive vendor or in-house costs to go through large volumes of files (47.5%)

Damaged productions and exposure to sanctions due to error (16.3%)

Failure to meet court-set deadlines (12.9%)

According to Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, data volume in general doubles every 18 to 24 months.

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended in December 2006 to require that companies can quickly access an inventory of electronically stored information in the event of litigation. Diane Barrasso, a principal in Deloitte’s Document Review Services practice, said in a release, “Courts appear to be appreciative of organizations and their counsel when the companies have implemented a standardized practice and written policies, practices and procedures that are utilized to govern discovery procedures. By implementing a policy of transparency internally, companies can effectively react to discovery requests…and significantly decrease errors when litigation arises.”

Source: Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, www.deloitte.com.