The giant strides taken by some US-based law firms in the adoption of electronic discovery, or e-disclo-sure as it is known elsewhere, have somewhat over-shadowed advances in the field that are made in other jurisdictions. Undoubtedly, many firms are behind the curve, but others are just doing things differently. Notably, some of Australia’s top firms were also quick to recognise the increasing prominence and usefulness of electronic data in court.
“It is still not routine for electronic discovery to be requested on all matters,” says Michelle Mahoney, director of applied legal technology at Mallesons Stephen Jaques. “[But] in the past 18 months the frequency of requests has incrementally increased. We anticipate a continual increase in this area. However, we do not believe we will see, in the short term, a replication of the US trend where there was a huge surge of electronic disclo-sure. We believe the area will continue to experience strong organic growth.”
