Litigators and litigation support professionals who have been practicing long enough recall the days when Bankers Boxes filled with original documents (or copies of originals) were the primary source of “data” in litigation. For such professionals, the tedious and time-consuming task of identifying relevant information in such documents was, and still is, a challenge in commercial and other categories of litigation. Today, most documents—even if initially received in physical, hard-copy format—are stored electronically with sophisticated electronic document storage warehouses, which provide the ability to easily search document text and metadata. Despite these advancements in technology, the document review process may still be time-consuming.

However, in addition to “traditional” hard-copy and electronic document review, newer categories of digital data and the expanded use of such data are creating new challenges—as well as opportunities—for litigators and litigation support professionals alike. As we progress further into the “big data” culture, the current focus appears to be on buzzwords (i.e., artificial intelligence), cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) applications that synchronize data from various sources, and new data analytical tools. This focus undoubtedly has a wide range of applicability for executive decision-making and management of business operations. However, the large volumes of data maintained by businesses and their SaaS providers may undoubtedly be used by attorneys and their experts in litigation.

Categories and Sources of Data