| At the heart of any legal undertaking is the | | | | |
| mass of data that legal professionals need to | | | | The challenges of dealing with digital media |
| perform their jobs. The demanding job of | | | | are many. For one thing, there tends to be |
| acquiring and organizing the documents that | | | | large volumes of such data and each document |
| comprise this data is known as litigation | | | | may have many copies or exist in several |
| support. It's a demanding task that requires | | | | versions. Also electronic data is much more |
| a high level or organizational ability and a | | | | volatile than hard copy. So it requires |
| painstaking attention to detail. And with | | | | special handling. What's more the data may be |
| these documents increasingly in electronic | | | | concealed or encrypted which demands special |
| form, litigation support professionals need | | | | expertise. |
| even more skills and knowledge. | | | | |
| | | | Other than procedures such as the scanning, |
| The legal system runs on information. Any law | | | | imaging, and indexing of documents, |
| suit or court case involves a veritable sea | | | | litigation support firms also provide such |
| of documentation ranging from witness | | | | sophisticated activities as electronic |
| statements to affidavits to any documents | | | | discovery and computer forensics. These are |
| that can be applied as evidence. And the | | | | essentially the same procedure - the |
| legal system demands impeccable documentation | | | | retrieval of data from computer systems for a |
| with accuracy, security, integrity, speed and | | | | specific purpose. The difference is just in |
| efficiency. The management of this rigorous | | | | the reason for the retrieval; electronic |
| process is known as litigation support. | | | | discovery is for general purposes, while the |
| | | | term computer forensics is generally used |
| Litigation support can be defined as any | | | | when the retrieved information is for use in |
| operation involving human and mechanical | | | | a law suit or in a court of law. |
| systems to process information for use by | | | | |
| attorneys or expert consultants in | | | | Forensic investigations could involve |
| preparation for a lawsuit or a trial. And in | | | | recovering hidden, damaged or corrupted |
| these high-tech times it's an especially | | | | files. Or perhaps decrypting |
| demanding task. | | | | password-protected or encrypted files, as |
| | | | well as recovering emails, chat data and |
| Nowadays, a major part of such documentation | | | | other forms of online communication. |
| is likely to be in electronic form and stored | | | | |
| on a computer system. The retrieval and | | | | The range of crimes that might require these |
| authentication of such digital documents is a | | | | services is extremely wide ranging. Some |
| field in itself and one of vital importance | | | | examples are copyright infringement, money |
| in a successful legal undertaking. | | | | laundering, blackmail or corruption. In fact |
| | | | any crime in which relevant information is |
| What's more, paper documents also have to be | | | | stored on a computer system. And in this day |
| scanned and stored in digital format. This | | | | and age that could mean virtually anything. |
| allows easy access to concerned parties. It's | | | | |
| a process that demands impeccable | | | | The legal system depends on accurate and |
| organisation and supervision. Documents have | | | | documented information in order to function |
| to be tagged and indexed and stored in | | | | so it's essential to have professionals take |
| document management centers in a way that | | | | charge of this task. More and more data is |
| they're instantly retrievable. | | | | now in digital form, to it's essential for |
| | | | litigation support firms to be able to deal |
| Clearly people working in this field have to | | | | with this. And with data security becoming |
| skilled in both technology and law. And | | | | increasingly important in this wired world, |
| generally employees in firm that offer | | | | the field of computer forensics is one that |
| litigation support services are qualified | | | | has to develop accordingly. |
| paralegals. | | | | |