Jonathan Swerdloff

As you have read in my prior posts, you can utilize workflows and technology to find a needle in a haystack, or to find out what needles can be found in your evidentiary haystack. There are matters where you are still learning about the context of you’re your case – once you learn that, you can use it as a guiding force to rapidly develop newly discovered areas of inquiry. Using the tools I outline below, you can leverage technology to make short work of your document dump while creating a robust evidentiary set.

In my last post, I addressed finding a needle in a haystack when an opposing party produces its documents to you as a large, unorganized document dump. The next two posts in this series address what happens when you know that there’s a haystack but you’re not so sure about what the needles might look like. In this post, I will address an instance where you know the basic facts of your case but you have some evidentiary gaps.

Many organizations struggle with how to get started with a data map, and how to use one that they have. Some basic steps are outlined below, though your project may not follow these exactly. The scope of your project will depend on how complex your organization’s IT is, your resources, and timing; creating and using a data map pre-litigation is going to be different than when you are responding to discovery. It is important to remember that data maps may be developed incrementally, such as by focusing on certain departments or systems before attempting to data map everything.

Does your company have a written policy regarding whether employees may “bring your own device” (BOYD) for work? If not, you need one. At a minimum, your company policy should clearly state whether employee-owned devices may be used in the workplace or to access company data, and if so, in what circumstances. If your company has not already determined what the policy should be, there are risks and benefits of allowing BYOD that you will have to weigh. Two options for employees to use mobile devices for work include “Bring Your Own Device,” in which an employee purchases a device and uses it for work, and “Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled” devices, or COPE, , involves issuing company-owned devices to employees. Each program has benefits and risks and you will need to determine what program fits best within your corporate culture.