Resources

Glossary

Definitions of common eDiscovery and litigation terms referenced throughout Discovery Genie.

Bates numbering: Also “Bates labeling,” a method of labeling and numbering electronic or physical documents for identification and organization purposes, consisting of stamping each page of each document with a unique number, which can then be used to identify, track, and locate the document if necessary. Bates numbering is typically used in conjunction with document management software or other tools to automate the process and ensure accuracy.
Convert [a document] to PDF: To transform the document into a Portable Document Format file. PDF is a file format developed by Adobe Systems that is widely used for electronic documents. It allows documents to be viewed and printed consistently on a wide range of devices, regardless of the software or hardware used to create them. Discovery Genie automatically converts documents to PDF, unless the user elects to produce the document in native format.
Custodian: A person who has control over, or responsibility for, electronic information (ESI) that may be relevant to a legal proceeding. This may include individuals who create, receive, or maintain electronic documents, emails, or other types of electronically stored information. A custodian may be responsible for ensuring that electronic records are properly stored, organized, and backed up, and for providing access to them as needed.
Disclosure: The process of disclosing or revealing relevant information and documents to the other party or parties involved in the legal case. Disclosure may be required by law, court rules, or a judge's order. It typically occurs at an early stage of the litigation process and may be ongoing throughout the case. See also Discovery.
Discovery: The pre-trial phase in which each party to a lawsuit has the opportunity to gather information and evidence from the other party and from third parties. There are several methods of discovery, including written discovery (requests for production of documents and interrogatories), depositions, and inspection of physical evidence. The rules governing discovery vary by jurisdiction, but the general principle is that each party has the right to obtain information relevant to the case.
Document: Typically defined as a written or printed paper, or a digital file, that contains information relevant to the case at hand—including emails, contracts, legal briefs, court orders, reports, and other written or printed materials. In the context of eDiscovery, documents may also include electronic files of various types, such as PDFs, word processing documents, and spreadsheets.
Document Management: The process of organizing, storing, and managing the lifecycle of electronic and physical documents. Document management systems are designed to support the creation, capture, indexing, storage, retrieval, and disposal of documents in a consistent and efficient manner.
Document production: The process of exchanging relevant documents and information between the parties involved in a legal case. This may include production by one party to the other, or by a third party in response to a subpoena or other legal request. Document production may occur at various stages of the litigation process, governed by applicable laws and court rules.
Document Production Request: A formal request made by one party in litigation to another party for the production of specific documents believed to be relevant to the case. Requests typically specify the types of documents requested, and may include both physical and electronic documents.
Due Process of Law: In the context of civil litigation, the fair and just procedures that must be followed to protect the rights and interests of the parties involved—including the right to notice, the right to be heard, and the right to a fair and impartial decision by the court.
eDiscovery: Also “Electronic Discovery,” the process of identifying, collecting, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) during the disclosure and/or discovery phases of litigation. The process is governed by rules and regulations, and typically involves specialized software and other tools to search, review, and produce the requested ESI.
Electronically stored information (ESI): Any information stored electronically, including documents, emails, images, audio and video files, and other types of data. ESI can be stored on a variety of media, including computers, servers, hard drives, and cloud storage. In litigation, ESI is often considered discoverable, meaning it may be relevant to a case and subject to requests for production or inspection.
Indexing: The process of creating an organized list or catalog of the documents and other materials that are produced or disclosed in litigation. An index typically includes the date and author of the document, a description of the document's content, and relevant metadata, and may include information about privilege or confidentiality claims.
Key Document: A document that has the potential to affect the outcome of a case, as opposed to a document that is legally relevant but is unlikely to affect or determine the outcome of a case.
Load File: A file that contains electronic documents being loaded or imported into a document management system or eDiscovery platform. A load file may be formatted as a .csv file compatible with spreadsheet programs like Excel, containing the metadata and other information contained in an index of the production.
Mastery of Evidence: The ability of a lawyer, paralegal or law clerk to locate and access evidence in real time, as the needs of the litigation demand, generally through the creation and use of an index or searchable database—avoiding wasting time searching for documents already known to the attorney or paralegal.
Metadata: Data that provides information about documents or other data—such as the date a file was created, the author of a document, or the size of an image. For emails, metadata includes the sender, recipient(s), cc or bcc recipient(s), date, subject, and attachments. In eDiscovery, metadata is often considered a type of ESI that may be relevant to a lawsuit and subject to discovery and production requests.
Native Format: The format in which a document was originally created or saved. For example, a document created in Microsoft Word has a native format of .docx; a document created in Microsoft Excel has a native format of .xlsx.
Objective Coding: The process of categorizing or labeling documents or other materials in a consistent and unbiased manner, based on the content or characteristics of the materials—often used in legal discovery to help identify and organize relevant documents.
The Predictor: An algorithm developed and patented by Discovery Genie to facilitate a privilege review. The Predictor collects all of the email addresses in a document set, which the user classifies according to the owner's role: attorney, client, third party or adverse party. The algorithm then analyzes each email according to the sender and recipient(s), and predicts the likelihood that the document is to be privileged or produced.
Privilege: A legal right or immunity that protects certain types of information or communications from being disclosed or used as evidence in a lawsuit. The most common types of privilege in the United States are:
Attorney-client privilege — protects communications between a lawyer and a client from disclosure to third parties, including other parties to a lawsuit.
Work product doctrine — protects the mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal theories of an attorney prepared in anticipation of litigation from being disclosed or used by the opposing party.
Spousal privilege — also known as the marital privilege, protects certain communications between spouses from being used as evidence in a lawsuit.
Privilege Log: A document that lists and describes the documents or other materials that a party in a legal case is withholding from production or disclosure on the grounds that they are privileged. The log should include the date of the document, the author and recipients, a brief description of subject matter, and the legal basis for the privilege claim.
Proportionality: The idea that the scope and nature of the discovery process should be reasonable and appropriate in relation to the needs of the case—balancing the needs of the parties to obtain relevant information with the burden and cost of discovery on the other party.
Relevant: Information that has a bearing on the issues in a lawsuit, including documents, emails, witness testimony, and other types of evidence pertaining to the factual or legal issues in the case. The standard for relevance is typically quite broad.
Rules of Civil Procedure: A set of rules that govern the process of conducting a civil lawsuit in a court of law, covering every aspect of the litigation process from the filing of the initial complaint to the final judgment or settlement. The rules vary by jurisdiction and may be established by federal or state law, or by local court rules.
Sedona Principles: A set of guidelines that provide best practices for eDiscovery, developed by the Sedona Conference. There are eleven principles in total, organized into four categories:
Cooperation — encouraging cooperation and communication between parties and their counsel to facilitate efficient, cost-effective discovery of ESI.
Proportionality — ensuring the scope and nature of discovery is proportional to the needs of the case.
Reasonableness — requiring parties to take reasonable, good-faith steps to preserve, collect, and produce ESI, and to cooperate in the discovery process.
Best Practices — encouraging the use of best practices and guidelines for the discovery of ESI, including technology-assisted review.
Small firm eDiscovery: Also “small case eDiscovery,” the application of the discovery concept of Proportionality to small cases—i.e., reduced discovery in cases involving small dollar amounts or limited complexity.