what are the possible costs associated with electronic discovery? course hero

by Dr. Koby Effertz III 4 min read

What percentage of litigation costs are incurred to perform discovery?

How much is discovery in state cases?

How much of a civil case is discovery?

How many federal civil cases involve discovery?

Is eDiscovery an exercise?

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What are the possible costs associated with electronic discovery?

Electronic Discovery Costs On a per-gigabyte basis, costs ranged from $125 to $6,700 for the collection of data, from $600 to $6,000 for processing electronic data, and from $1,800 to $210,000 for the legal review.

Is e discovery expensive?

Modern eDiscovery can be very expensive. And law firms often spend millions of dollars over just two or three years. Surveys from sources like the American Bar Association and Above the Law can tell us a lot about eDiscovery in 2021.

What is electronic data discovery?

Electronic discovery -- also called e-discovery or ediscovery -- is the process of obtaining and exchanging evidence in a legal case or investigation. E-discovery is used in the initial phases of litigation when involved parties are required to provide relevant records and evidence related to a case.

How does electronic discovery operate?

Electronic discovery (also known as e-discovery, e discovery, or eDiscovery) is a procedure by which parties involved in a legal case preserve, collect, review, and exchange information in electronic formats for the purpose of using it as evidence.

How much does document review cost?

Prices can range from $35 to hundreds of dollars per hour per attorney, depending on factors like the level of expertise required and whether you need the reviewers to speak and read a specific foreign language relevant to the case.

What are the types of eDiscovery?

It encompasses what most often is referred to as electronically stored information, or ESI. Examples of the types of ESI included are emails, instant messaging chats, documents, accounting databases, CAD/CAM files, Web sites, and any other electronic information that could be relevant evidence in a lawsuit.

What is the importance of eDiscovery?

The importance of eDiscovery should not be underestimated: it is among the primary drivers for the deployment of archiving systems and has significant implications for how organizations retain, store and manage their electronic content. A failure to manage eDiscovery properly can carry with it serious ramifications.

What is another name for electronic discovery?

Electronic discovery (sometimes known as e-discovery, ediscovery, eDiscovery, or e-Discovery) is the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in response to a request for production in a law suit or investigation.

What are the stages of eDiscovery?

The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) divides the legal eDiscovery process into six stages: identification, preservation, collection, processing, review and production.

What are eDiscovery services?

eDiscovery software allows legal professionals to process, review, tag, and produce electronic documents as part of a lawsuit or investigation. The right software can help attorneys discover valuable information regarding a matter while reducing costs, speeding up resolutions, and mitigating risks.

What challenges do you think ESI poses for the discovery process?

E-Discovery: Three Major Challenges For EmployersThe Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure. ... Preventing Data Destruction That Means Trouble. ... The Problem Of Continuous Generation Of Evidence. ... The "Gigabyte Disparity"

What is the difference between eDiscovery and digital forensics?

Simply defined, eDiscovery is the process of identifying, preserving, collecting, processing, reviewing, and analyzing electronically stored information (ESI) in litigation. The digital forensics process involves identifying, preserving, collecting, analyzing, and reporting on digital information.

What is ESI in legal terms?

In the context of litigation, any documents or information that are stored in electronic form. Common examples of ESI include: Word processing documents. Spreadsheets.

What is eDiscovery in healthcare?

Electronic Discovery (“e-discovery”) is the modern version of the traditional pre-trial process of an attorney requesting that the opposing party turn over copies of documents in hopes of finding valuable evidence.

What is eDiscovery Microsoft?

Electronic discovery, or eDiscovery, is the process of identifying and delivering electronic information that can be used as evidence in legal cases.

Budget Calculators - EDRM

[toc] The following e-discovery budget calculators were provided by EDRM members. Use the calculators as they are or modify them as desired. Please share improvements with us so we can share them with others. The spreadsheets below are meant to help people and organizations that are attempting to estimate likely e-discovery costs. The spreadsheets require […]

Revealing the True Costs and Burdens of eDiscovery

For more than a year, a group of 50+ judges, eDiscovery technologists and legal experts have been collaborating on The GW Proportionality Initiative. This exciting initiative to develop a rigorous new Framework for proportionality analysis aims to improve the integrity of the discovery process.

21 Ediscovery Industry Statistics and Trends - BrandonGaille.com

About The Author Although millions of people visit Brandon's blog each month, his path to success was not easy. Go here to read his incredible story, "From Disabled and $500k in Debt to a Pro Blogger with 5 Million Monthly Visitors." If you want to send Brandon a quick message, then visit his contact page here.

The Bottom Line: Evaluating and Controlling Ediscovery Costs

Three Ways to Frame Ediscovery Costs. The cost of civil torts in the U.S. was estimated at nearly $265 billion in 2010, with discovery costs accounting for 20 to 50 percent of all litigation expenses.Ediscovery costs include legal holds and collections, data storage, processing, staffing needs for IT and legal departments, outside counsel fees, software, and myriad other categories of expenses.

What amendment allowed taxing the costs associated with copying materials whether or not they are in paper form?

The Court noted that the authors of the 2008 amendment “intended the amendment to have limited effect” and permitted “taxing the costs associated with copying materials whether or not they are in paper form.” In remanding the case to the District Court, the Circuit Court compared KBR’s requested e-discovery costs to those of the pre-digital era, and reasoned they were:

What is disclosure in law enforcement?

Any court, governmental authority, law enforcement agency or other third party where we believe disclosure is necessary to comp ly with a legal or regulatory obligation, or otherwise to protect our rights, the rights of any third party or individuals' personal safety, or to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or safety issues.

Can a prevailing party recover costs associated with litigation?

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920, a prevailing party may have a right to recover certain costs associated with the litigation. Many prevailing parties seek to recoup costs attendant to e-discovery, given the expense associated with collecting, processing and producing electronically stored information (“ESI”). However, most federal courts confronting the issue have determined that e-discovery costs are recoverable only in very limited circumstances.

Does JD Supra share your information?

Onward Transfer to Third Parties: As noted in the "How We Share Your Data" Section above, JD Supra may share your information with third parties. When JD Supra discloses your personal information to third parties, we have ensured that such third parties have either certified under the EU-U.S. or Swiss Privacy Shield Framework and will process all personal data received from EU member states/Switzerland in reliance on the applicable Privacy Shield Framework or that they have been subjected to strict contractual provisions in their contract with us to guarantee an adequate level of data protection for your data.

What percentage of litigation costs are incurred to perform discovery?

20 to 50 percent of all costs in federal civil litigation are incurred to perform discovery, not including soft costs -- like business interruption ( source ).

How much is discovery in state cases?

Discovery in state cases is 50% of the cost of discovery in federal cases, irrespective of the type of case.

How much of a civil case is discovery?

Note: Assumes state cases are half as costly as federal cases, and that discovery occurs in 60% of all civil cases.

How many federal civil cases involve discovery?

About 60% of federal civil cases involve discovery.

Is eDiscovery an exercise?

Also, eDiscovery and discovery are used interchangeably.

What percentage of litigation costs are incurred to perform discovery?

20 to 50 percent of all costs in federal civil litigation are incurred to perform discovery, not including soft costs -- like business interruption ( source ).

How much is discovery in state cases?

Discovery in state cases is 50% of the cost of discovery in federal cases, irrespective of the type of case.

How much of a civil case is discovery?

Note: Assumes state cases are half as costly as federal cases, and that discovery occurs in 60% of all civil cases.

How many federal civil cases involve discovery?

About 60% of federal civil cases involve discovery.

Is eDiscovery an exercise?

Also, eDiscovery and discovery are used interchangeably.

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Facts

Research

  1. Annual costs to the US for civil lawsuits are between $200 and $250 billion (source)
  2. Total litigation costs of the Fortune 500 is about $210 billion (source)
  3. Total economic impact of US tort litigation is $263 billion, which accounts for administrative costs, defense costs, and benefits paid to third parties (source)
  4. For every federal case in which any type of discovery is involved, the average (i.e. median) co…
  1. Annual costs to the US for civil lawsuits are between $200 and $250 billion (source)
  2. Total litigation costs of the Fortune 500 is about $210 billion (source)
  3. Total economic impact of US tort litigation is $263 billion, which accounts for administrative costs, defense costs, and benefits paid to third parties (source)
  4. For every federal case in which any type of discovery is involved, the average (i.e. median) costs incurred for discovery is estimated to be about $35,000 (based on numerous estimates) (source) (so...
  5. 20 to 50 percent of all costs in federal civil litigation are incurred to perform discovery, not including soft costs -- like business interruption (source).
  6. Combined revenue of the Fortune 500 totals about $12.1 trillion (); Thus, total litigation costs …

Assumptions

  • Discovery accounts for between 20 to 50 percent of litigation expenses in civil cases that go to discovery.
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Estimates

  • Note: For the purposes of these calculations, we will assume discovery represents 20% of total litigation costs — the low end of some estimates.
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Estimate #1 — Based on Volume of Filings and Per-Case Costs

  • Civil discovery costs Federal: 303,000 cases x $35,000 per case x 60% of cases = $6.36 billion State: 19 million cases x ($35,000/2) per case x 60% of cases = $19.95 billion Note: Assumes state cases are half as costly as federal cases, and that discovery occurs in 60% of all civil cases. Criminal discovery costs Federal: 86,700 cases x ($35,000/10) per case x 60% of cases = $182.0…
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Estimate #2 — Based on Litigation Costs Incurred by Us Organizations

  • Fortune 500: $210 billion x 20% = $42 billion Note: Assumes discovery costs are 20% of total litigation costs. Non-Fortune 500: ($17.7 trillion - $12.1 trillion)/2 x 1.7% of total GDP x 20% = $9.52 billion Note: This equation represents discovery costs incurred by Non-Fortune 500 US organizations, assuming that Non-Fortune 500 organizations incur half as much litigation cost a…
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Estimate #3 — Based on Total Estimated Costs of Civil Litigation

  • All Civil Litigation (State and Federal): $200 billion x 20% = $40 billion Note: Assumes discovery costs are 20% of total litigation costs and civil litigation cost the US $200 billion. All Criminal Litigation: Federal: 86,700 cases x $408 per case = $353.3 million State: 21,000,000 cases x $204 per case = $4.284 billion Note: Assumes that the average cost of discovery in a state case is hal…
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Conclusion

  • The average of these three estimates is $42.1 billion. To put this in perspective, if US eDiscovery was its own economic nation, it would rank 90th out of 189 countries. 87. Serbia 88. Panama 89. Yemen 90. US eDiscovery 91. Libya 92. Ghana 93. Jordan References http://www.courtstatistics.org/other-pages/~/media/microsites/files/csp/data%20pdf/csp_dec.a…
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