Since the 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which explicitly cover electronically stored information, e-discovery has become one of the most significant steps in meeting legal and compliance obligations. It can be broadly described as the identification, collection, analysis and production of relevant information during lawsuits or legal disputes. It extends traditional discovery, “the compulsory disclosure of pertinent facts or documents to the opposing party in a civil action, usually before a trial begins.” Data produced during e-discovery can also be used at trial.

When an organization expects legal action, it must preserve all records related to the matter, place a hold on them, and retain them for as long as necessary. Failing to do so can lead to court sanctions, fines, added costs and reputational damage. Docsvault’s records management features, including electronic retention and retrieval, can ease the process. Here is how Docsvault supports each step.

E-Discovery

Consistent Data Storage

Docsvault offers a centralized repository for all data related to a matter. Predefined matter folder structures enforce consistent storage and profiling. Customizable metadata indexes let you profile different types of legal documents differently. Systematic versioning prevents version conflicts when several people work on the same file. Microsoft Office integration makes handling Word and Excel documents easy, and Outlook integration lets users save email communications to the right matter folder. A built-in PDF viewer and editor lets you work with PDFs inside Docsvault. Hash-based duplicate detection finds duplicate documents anywhere in the repository. Existing files can be brought in in bulk with their metadata using the Advanced Import add-on.

Archive & Delete Policy

Every organization needs retention and deletion schedules for its data. Many keep more than they need for fear of deleting something important, which raises storage costs and slows review. With a well-formed retention policy in Docsvault, you can log all record activity so disposition is traceable and defensible. When litigation is expected, place a legal hold on the records involved. Held records are not deleted automatically, and you can see which files and folders are on hold, who placed each hold and when. The Archive Policy Hold likewise keeps critical documents out of automatic archiving and deletion.

Electronic Document Retrieval

The main challenge in litigation is identifying the relevant data. Docsvault searches every part of your repository, including text inside documents and indexed email, using Boolean, proximity and date-range operators. You can save searches you repeat and filter by metadata. Results can be exported with one click, or as PDF or Excel reports for further work. Combined with retention policies, this makes collection more thorough and less time-consuming.

Production and Privilege Protection

Apply Bates numbers, watermarks, and headers and footers to production sets, and redact privileged or personal information before documents leave the firm. Assign a document status such as “Confidential” to limit access to specific users or groups, together with folder-level permissions. Export Bates-stamped, redacted PDFs and Excel reports of your search results.

Defensible Record Keeping

An audit trail logs every action in the repository, including views, edits, and exports. Version control shows which version of a document was produced. Digitally signed PDFs can be validated in Adobe Acrobat, and a document changed after signing is flagged as modified since it was signed.

How Docsvault Supports e-Discovery Obligations

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure address these duties in Rule 26 (discovery planning and privilege claims), Rule 34 (producing electronically stored information) and Rule 37(e) (sanctions where ESI was not reasonably preserved). Many states have their own equivalents. Docsvault provides features that support your process. It does not hold a compliance certification and does not replace legal advice, so confirm your obligations with counsel. See also our legal document management solution.

  • Preparedness for e-discovery document retention

  • Legal holds that keep records from being deleted automatically

  • Early case assessment to understand legal position

  • Prevents version conflicts and finds duplicate documents

  • Enforcement of strict security policies
  • Reduces risk of lawsuits to a significant extent

  • Lower risk of sanctions from lost or deleted records

  • Saves crucial time during lawsuits