Efficient planning will save time and minimise costs, says Tracey Stretton
The way in which we communicate with one another in business and personally—has changed tremendously in recent years.
E-mail started to replace paper communications some time ago, but now it is sometimes bypassed in favour of text messages, social networking postings and even tweets.
Heavy stacks of paper gave way to CDs and then DVDs, but inconspicuous memory sticks that hold more data in a fraction of the space are now the norm. It is therefore no longer safe to assume that key documents will be in users’ e-mail boxes or on hard drives or company servers.
It is becoming more important for lawyers and investigators to understand the entire universe of potentially relevant evidence, including the newest communication tools.
They need to make informed decisions based on technical assessments about where to look, which evidence to prioritise and how to capture it in a way that retains its veracity.
Electronic information can be readily copied, moved without permission, altered (and thereby falsified) and the identity of the author assumed (by anyone
