What Is eDiscovery? A Practical Guide for Legal Teams

Cut Through the Digital Clutter: Why eDiscovery Is No Longer Optional

In today’s legal environment, the discovery phase isn’t about paper files anymore. It's about navigating terabytes of digital information. From emails and texts to cloud-stored databases and mobile device data, electronically stored information (ESI) is at the heart of modern litigation.

But with the rise in volume comes a rise in complexity and risk. For legal departments and litigation leaders, eDiscovery errors can mean missed deadlines, increased costs, and even sanctions. This guide gives your team a clear, plain-English overview of eDiscovery, the common pitfalls, and how to stay ahead.

What Is eDiscovery and What Counts as ESI?

eDiscovery (short for electronic discovery) is the process of identifying, preserving, collecting, processing, reviewing, and producing electronically stored information for use in legal proceedings. In plain terms: it’s how digital data becomes admissible evidence.

What is considered ESI? Just about everything:

• Emails, chats, and text messages
• PDFs, Word docs, presentations
• Cloud-based files
• Mobile device content
• Structured data from databases
• Social media, websites, even collaboration platforms like Slack

These files are dynamic, meaning they contain metadata like timestamps and authorship, and that metadata must be preserved for evidence to hold up in court.

The Risks: Where eDiscovery Goes Wrong

Whether you’re inside a law firm or managing in-house litigation, the stakes are high. Common risks include:

• Spoliation of evidence (e.g., lost data or improperly preserved ESI)
• Missed deadlines due to lack of coordination or inadequate tooling
• Over-collection of irrelevant data, driving up time and review costs
• Privilege waivers from accidental disclosure
• Compliance failures, especially with global privacy laws like GDPR

Even a minor misstep in early phases (like incorrect scoping or sloppy collection) can ripple through the entire litigation process.

Array’s Approach: Smart, Defensible, and Scalable

While this guide is educational, many legal teams soon realize: doing eDiscovery well takes more than just software. That’s where Array adds value—not as a tool vendor, but as a full-service litigation support partner.

Here’s how we help legal professionals win:

• One-stop shop: From forensic collection to managed attorney review, we provide end-to-end services.
• Complex data experts: We handle mobile data, databases, cloud systems wherever your ESI lives
• Integrated review: Our managed review team works hand-in-hand with our eDiscovery experts for speed and accuracy.
• Responsive, human support: No ticketing systems. You get real people who understand legal urgency.

Array’s eDiscovery service isn’t about handing over a platform and walking away. It’s a partnership with human expertise, proven workflows, and cutting-edge tools working together.

Why It Matters for You

For Litigation Practice Leads

• Improve accuracy in discovery timelines and reduce downstream risks 
• Free up senior attorneys from document-heavy tasks
• Get defensible, documented workflows that stand up in court 

For Legal Operations Managers

• Reduce vendor sprawl by consolidating discovery + review 
• Track costs with transparency across phases - Integrate with your existing legal tech stack

For General Counsel

• Control risk exposure from compliance issues
• Avoid reputational damage from discovery sanctions
• Support corporate strategy with predictable legal spend
  
  
  

Practical Tips: Getting eDiscovery Right from Day One

• Engage your discovery partner early—ideally at the onset of a legal hold
• Map your data sources before collection starts
• Prioritize data types by complexity and review needs
• Use AI where it makes sense, but keep human oversight
• Maintain a clear audit trail at each step

Want to Learn More?

Explore Array’s eDiscovery Services Page
Learn how our end-to-end services, from forensic collection to managed review, are helping legal teams scale with confidence.

Need help now? Contact our eDiscovery team for a confidential consult.