Tracey Stretton explains why the UK needs to sharpen its approach to ESI
The risk of litigation and the corresponding cost of electronic disclosure do not diminish in a downward economy and no company, large or small, is exempt from litigation or from the increasingly complex conundrum known as electronically stored information (ESI) disclosure.
Research commissioned by Kroll Ontrack finds that there has been a vast growth in ESI awareness and policy enactment over the past 12 months. This demonstrates that high profile sanctions cases and education regarding ESI have been a wake up call to corporations and their legal teams. However, many companies are failing to appreciate the legal and logistical issues involved in responding to requests for often sensitive information from regulatory bodies and ensuring that they can provide details of anything that qualifies as electronic information.
Our study found that while 70% of US companies have policies in place to deal with ESI in a litigation process (compared with 40% in 2007), only 53% (compared with 43% in 2007) of those in the UK can boast similar preparedness. Both figures represent an improved
