I Love It When A Plan Comes Together: 7 Tips When Creating An E-Discovery Action Plan

Having a plan of action for the unexpected provides a sense of security. Just as we know the fire exits in an office or have a suitcase packed before a hospital trip, your organization needs a "fire drill" for litigation.

E-discovery is too complex, time-consuming, and costly to "wing it." An established action plan helps you avoid the high costs of inefficiency, prevents court sanctions, and gives your legal team a strategic edge.

Here is the cleaned and formatted version of Exterro’s E-Discovery Action Plan tips, ready for direct copy-paste:

The E-Discovery Action Plan: Essential Tips for Success

1. Information Governance (IG) & Data Identification

Tip: Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

Think of information governance as a marathon, not a sprint. The temptation to overhaul everything at once can disrupt business processes and erode executive support. Prioritize key areas first and build your IG program incrementally over time.

2. Preservation & Legal Hold

Tip: Leverage Custodian Knowledge

In the early stages of a matter, it is rarely clear which employees hold the most relevant documents. Go straight to the source by interviewing key custodians. A successful process uses simple, consistent questionnaires and a clear method for aggregating those responses.

3. Early Case Assessment (ECA)

Tip: Come to Meet and Confers Prepared

Many litigants treat court-mandated "meet and confers" as a mere formality. A strong ECA process equips you with actionable, hard data. This allows you to counter disproportionate e-discovery requests from the opposing side with facts about your data volume and complexity.

4. Collection & Processing

Tip: Create Collection Tiers

Over-collection is a leading driver of exorbitant e-discovery spending. To avoid this, "tier" your collection: target the most relevant custodians and data sources first. Move to lower tiers only if the initial data proves insufficient.

5. Document Review

Tip: Utilize Federal Rules to Protect Against Privilege Waiver

Reviewing for privilege can consume 80% or more of a review budget. Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 502(d) allows parties to enter into non-waiver agreements. This ensures privilege remains protected even if a privileged document is accidentally produced. While it doesn't eliminate the need for review, it provides a vital safety net that can streamline the process.

6. Project Management

Tip: Create a Cross-functional E-Discovery Response Team

E-discovery spans multiple departments, each with its own culture. To ensure accountability, form a response team with representatives from Legal, IT, and Records Management. This ensures that e-discovery processes align with larger business goals without disrupting daily operations.

Final Thoughts

E-discovery is a continuum of processes that must work in concert. Implementing these steps now will pay dividends in recovered time and reduced overhead. Don’t wait for a legal hold notice to hit your inbox before strategizing.

Download the full E-Discovery Action Plan here

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