How To Integrate E-Discovery Into Business Processes In Five Steps

With little notice, compliance officers, in-house counsel, and other legal professionals for organizations in the oil and gas industry may be required to hand over sensitive files in response to compliance, regulatory, or investigative requests. The continual increase in volumes and disparate types of electronically stored information (ESI), coupled with heightened government oversight and intervention, means the stakes and costs of complying with these requests have never been higher. When managed inconsistently, these requests pose a great risk.

As e-discovery—which involves identifying, collecting, reviewing, and producing responsive data in an investigation or litigation—converges with compliance, corporations must understand how to manage these processes to minimize exposure to costs and risks while maximizing the value of their data for business purposes. The best methodology consists of five steps that will incorporate e-discovery as a repeatable business process into the larger corporate compliance program.