How should electronic audio data be handled and how can it be included into the eDisclosure process? Adrian White reports
The challenges for many organisations and their lawyers presented by the explosion of electronic information are well-documented. When the regulators come to call, identifying, collating and evaluating large quantities of emails, word processed documents, and other electronic records requires a micro level of management and cutting-edge technology to make sense of it all. However, what has proven rather more difficult is data that is recorded and stored in audio rather than written form.
The traditional way of dealing with a disclosure order or regulatory request involving recorded audio is for a lawyer team or litigation support professional to listen to every minute of potentially relevant material, often more than once, and to identify and transcribe the important bits. However, this can be a labour-intensive and expensive processes as organisations continue to be required to retain more material. It is also inherently inaccurate.
Incorporating audio
Fortunately, search technology has evolved to address this problem, much of it commercially spun out from the defence and
