E-Discovery (Electronic Discovery) is the process of identifying, collecting, processing, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) as evidence in legal proceedings. In the digital age, where over 90% of communication and documentation is electronic, E-Discovery becomes critically important in civil, administrative, and criminal disputes. This service involves not just finding emails and files but also recovering deleted information, analyzing metadata (creation date, author), and locating relevant evidence within Big Data. Georgian legislation, including the Civil and Criminal Procedure Codes, recognizes electronic evidence; however, its collection and presentation must adhere to strict standards for the court to deem it admissible. E-Discovery is essential for corporate disputes, fraud investigations, intellectual property theft, and employment cases.
What Does E-Discovery Service Cover?
Specialists on Legal.ge, combining legal and IT competence, offer the full cycle:
- Identification & Preservation: Determining sources of potentially relevant electronic information (servers, laptops, mobiles) and securing them against destruction/alteration ("Legal Hold").
- Collection: Extracting data following forensic rules to ensure metadata remains intact and evidence authenticity is preserved.
- Processing & Analysis: Using specialized software to filter thousands of files by keywords, dates, and individuals.
- Review: Substantive examination of documents by lawyers to separate relevant materials from confidential ones (attorney-client privilege).
- Production: Formatting evidence in a manner acceptable to the court.
Common Situations and Scenarios
E-Discovery services are needed in the following cases:
- Corporate Disputes: When partners dispute over agreements and need to analyze years of email correspondence to prove terms.
- Unfair Competition: Proving that an employee copied a client database or trade secrets before leaving the company.
- Divorce & Asset Division: Tracing digital assets (cryptocurrency, offshore accounts) hidden by a spouse.
- Internal Investigations: Investigating fraud or corruption within a company by analyzing communications and financial documents.
Georgian Legal Framework
The use of electronic evidence in Georgia is regulated by the Civil Procedure Code and the Law on Electronic Documents and Electronic Trust Services. Judicial practice increasingly relies on digital footprints. The main challenge is proving the authenticity of the evidence. If a file is extracted incorrectly and its "Hash Value" (digital fingerprint) changes, the opposing party may request it be deemed inadmissible. E-Discovery specialists ensure procedural integrity.
Step-by-Step Service Process
The process includes:
- Strategy Planning: What information are we looking for and where?
- Data Acquisition: Involvement of IT specialists.
- Legal Analysis: Legal assessment of found information.
Why Choose a Specialist on Legal.ge?
E-Discovery requires expensive technologies and specific knowledge. An ordinary lawyer may lack the resources to process large volumes of data. On Legal.ge, you will find teams equipped with the appropriate tools and experience to turn digital chaos into decisive evidence.
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