eDiscovery is a “Swiss army knife” and Cimplifi discusses several important considerations for government information requests you need to know!

Their post (Why Use a Hammer When You Can Use a Swiss Army Knife?: Considerations for Government Information Requests, available here) reminds us that close to half of 410 respondents (48.0%) in the eDiscovery Today 2023 State of the Industry Report said they apply eDiscovery technology and workflows to government information requests.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the primary statute that provides a mechanism for requesting public records (but it’s not the only one, as Cimplifi’s post points out). A FOIA request is a formal request submitted to a United States federal government agency for access to specific information or records that are not publicly available. This law, enacted in 1966, establishes the public’s right to access government records, with certain exceptions.

While FOIA applies only to federal agencies, states have their own versions of FOIA to make state and local government records accessible to the public. The FOIA process can be time-consuming, especially for complex requests or for agencies with large backlogs of requests. According to the Office for Information Policy (OIP), there were a record 928,353 FOIA requests in 2022 and agencies processed a record high of 878,420 requests!

So, how does eDiscovery for government information requests differ from eDiscovery for litigation? And how can you apply eDiscovery technology to government information requests? Check out their article here to find out! It’s only one more click! No need to wait 20 working days! 😉

So, what do you think? To how many use cases does your organization apply eDiscovery technology and workflows? Surely more than one, right? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

BTW, I’m on my first real vacation in three years (seriously! – this post was pre-scheduled!) so I may be slow to respond to comments here and on social media. 🙂

Disclosure: Cimplifi 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.