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Lawyers cite electronically stored information as cause for lost cases

A recent survey focusing on the important role of electronically stored information (ESI) in the legal process highlighted that while ESI has become a crucial part of the legal process, it has caused lawyers numerous problems over the past two years.

A staggering 100% of the 5000 lawyers questioned across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), stated that poor availability of relevant ESI led them to losing a case, delaying a case or being sanctioned by the courts of regulators.

According to the South African lawyers polled, 72% found ESI to be a critical part of their daily legal matters. More than half have experienced significant growth (25% - 50%) in the amount of legally relevant electronically stored information in the past five years. The information most commonly searched for by South African lawyers consists of e-mails, word processing documents, databases and the content of individual hard drives.

The survey also shows a disconnect between lawyers’ perceived readiness and their actual ability to respond to the challenges ESI presents. 69% of respondents claim to possess the right skills and resources to process 'digital evidence' effectively. 60%, however, still said they struggle with the volumes of legal matter related information that needs to be stored electronically.

“The challenge of dealing with electronically stored information in legal matters has become a mainstream concern,” said Tyrone Theodoris, systems engineer manager, Symantec Africa. “The results of this survey illustrate that accessing and managing electronic information effectively is a growing challenge for legal personnel. The single factor most likely to make their lives easier was search technology that effectively identifies, preserves and processes electronic information.”

More than half (57%) of respondents believe that technology is the answer to their problems, rather than changes to legislation or greater standardisation of the formats used to store information.

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