The disclosure obligations of a party to litigation can extend not only to paper documents but also to hard drives, laptops, servers and any other media on which data might be found. A party must conduct a reasonable search for, and disclose, documents which are relevant to the case and this will increasingly have to include a search for categories of electronic information. It is therefore vital to have in place a suitable electronic document retention and management policy.
The issue of the use and management of electronic information in court proceedings has been of considerable importance for some time and its significance continues to grow. We are all aware of the volume of electronic information generated both by businesses and individuals. With the continuing evolution of technologies such as the BlackBerry and other means of communication, the amount of electronic data changing hands will continue to increase. Problems can arise if caution is not exercised, as there is much
