| At the heart of any legal undertaking is the mass of | | | | authentication of such documents is a field in itself one |
| data that legal professionals need to perform their | | | | of vital importance to a successful legal undertaking. |
| jobs. The demanding task of acquiring and organizing | | | | The range of services offered by litigation support |
| the documents that comprise this data is known as | | | | firms range from clerical activities such as the |
| litigation support. It's a task that requires a high level or | | | | scanning, imaging, and indexing of documents to |
| organizational ability and a painstaking attention to | | | | sophisticated activities such as electronic discovery |
| detail. And with these documents increasingly in | | | | and computer forensics. |
| electronic form, litigation support professionals need IT | | | | Litigation support often uses the allied fields of |
| skills as well as legal and organisational expertise.> | | | | electronic discovery and computer forensics. These |
| Computers have revolutionized virtually all the | | | | are essentially the same thing |
| professions. One area where IT has made a | | | | - the retrieval of data from computer systems for a |
| particularly huge impact is in the legal field. | | | | specific puspose. |
| The legal system runs on information and especially | | | | The difference is just in the reason for the retrivel; |
| demands impeccable documentation with accuracy, | | | | electronic discovery is for general purposes while |
| security, integrity, speed and efficiency that only | | | | computer forensics is when the retrieved information is |
| computers can provide. Managing this documentation is | | | | for use in a law suit or in a court of law. |
| a critcal and the specialized field of litigation support | | | | Electronic discovery or forensic investigations could |
| services have emerged to handle this vital task. So | | | | involve recovering hidden, damaged or corrupted files. |
| what exactly do they do? | | | | Or perhaps decrypting password-protected or |
| Litigation Support is defined as any operation involving | | | | encrypted files, as well as recovering emails, chat data |
| human and mechanical systems to process | | | | and other forms of online communication. |
| information for use by attorneys or expert consultants | | | | Litigation support is a relatively new field but it's |
| in preparation for a lawsuit or a trial. In other words, a | | | | evolving rapidly. The legal system depends on |
| litigation support firm should offer any service that | | | | accurate and documented information in order to |
| provides the legal professional with the data he needs | | | | function so it's essential to have professonals take |
| to carry out his assignment. | | | | charge of this task. And with data security becoming |
| And in this day and age a major part of such | | | | increasingly important in this wired world, the field of |
| documentation is likely to be in electronic form and | | | | computer forensics is one that has to develop |
| stored on a computer system. The retrieval and | | | | accordingly. |