I’m back with another guest post for the Avansic blog! This time, I’m discussing six planning items you need to address before the case is filed!

I’ve managed a lot of eDiscovery projects for clients over the years, and probably the biggest lament I’ve heard from clients as their cases progressed was:

“I should have planned better for that ahead of time.”

By “ahead of time”, they often meant before the case was even filed.

eDiscovery projects are not the time to “learn as you go” and figure out processes and protocols that could have been addressed before the case. Parties that go into a case without a plan for how to address certain items are behind the minute the case is filed. So, this guest post that was published on Avansic’s blog discusses six planning items you need to address before the case is filed. Here’s one of them:

Create a Data Map

Information Governance is the first phase of the EDRM model. But it’s the only one that happens before the case begins. That’s why it’s a circle, representing a perpetual process within the EDRM model and separately as the IGRM model. There is a lot of great technology for understanding the data within your organization today, but you first must understand where the data is located to take advantage of that technology.

These days, that data is in current in-house systems, mobile devices, cloud-based solutions, and even legacy systems. Understanding your data is more complex than ever. That’s why your organization needs to create and maintain an up-to-date data map. You can use technology to find the needles within the haystacks, but you first must understand where the haystacks are. Having a data map in place gives you a jump start in finding the data you need to meet your discovery obligations.

So, what are the other five of six planning items you need to address before the case is filed? You can find out on Avansic’s blog here. It’s just one extra click!  😉 If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

So, what do you think? What is your organization doing to plan for that next case? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Disclosure: Avansic is an Educational Partner and sponsor of eDiscovery Today

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.