Usually, I’m the one coming up with the musical references, but ModeOne does so in their post here about self-collection and automation.

Their post (When Does Self-Collection Amount to No Collection? When Something Else Is ‘Happening’, available here) notes that self-collection, or custodian-based collection, by itself, is not a substandard eDiscovery practice. Most cases in self-collection bring the lyrics from “For What It’s Worth” (performed by Buffalo Springfield; written by Stephen Stills) to mind: “There’s something happening here, But what it is ain’t exactly clear.”

Aside from the fact that it references a great song, the post, in its discussion of self-collection and automation, discusses two cases. In the first one – Lyman v. Ford Motor Co. – Michigan Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford rejected defendant Ford Motor Company’s reliance on self-collection methods that produced a limited production.

But, in the second one – Maker’s Mark Distiller, Inc. v. Spalding Grp., Inc., et al. – Kentucky Magistrate Judge Lanny King determined that employees, not attorneys, were more likely to know what documents were relevant to a discovery request and conduct effective searches to find them and that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate the defendant’s process was flawed.

Which case is right – the one that rejected self-collection or the one that accepted it? The answer: both.

It’s not self-collection that is inherently bad – it’s the way it’s handled that can be bad if it’s not managed or conducted properly. The use of experts and/or the use of automation can help ensure that it is managed and conducted properly. Given that experts aren’t always available for every collection effort, self-collection and automation go hand in hand to help ensure a successful result.

So, how can automation help with smartphone collection? Find out here, it’s just one more click! “Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong!” 😉

So, what do you think? What is your organization doing to ensure self-collection is properly conducted? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image created using GPT-4’s Image Creator Powered by DALL-E, using the term “a buffalo in Springfield”. See what I did there? 😀

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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.