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What is eDiscovery?
eDiscovery, or electronic discovery, is the process of identifying, collecting, and reviewing electronically stored information (ESI) for legal proceedings, investigations, or regulatory compliance. It involves searching data across multiple systems and devices to locate relevant information, managing large volumes of digital data, and ensuring nothing is overlooked.
VMGroup supports clients throughout the entire eDiscovery process, from early case preparation to final production. We use industry-leading eDiscovery solutions to collect data directly from enterprise platforms and applications such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, ChatGPT Enterprise, and more.
How does VMGroup handle eDiscovery?
VMGroup helps organisations:
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Prioritise and prepare native files for review quickly and accurately
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Process documents and metadata efficiently, ensuring completeness
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Identify relevant communications, including emails, chats, and AI-generated data (including emojis)
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Search, filter, and trace conversations across multiple channels to understand who communicated with whom, what was said, and when
Our approach ensures that all electronically stored information (ESI) is collected, processed, and analysed with precision, reducing risk during investigations or legal proceedings.
What are the benefits of eDiscovery?
For compliance officers, regulatory professionals, and data custodians, eDiscovery provides tools to:
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Ensure compliance: Meet legal and regulatory obligations for disclosure
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Manage costs: Reduce the time and resources needed to handle large volumes of data
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Increase efficiency: Quickly locate and produce relevant information
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Mitigate risk: Identify sensitive information and potential vulnerabilities to prevent breaches or non-compliance
When and why does eDiscovery matter?
eDiscovery is critical for organisations navigating legal, regulatory, and internal compliance requirements in today’s digital landscape. It is especially relevant in situations such as:
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Topic |
Description
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Compliance |
eDiscovery is a crucial part of legal proceedings, ensuring that parties fulfill their obligation to disclose relevant information. |
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Cost Management |
eDiscovery tools and processes can help organisations manage the cost and complexity of handling large volumes of ESI. |
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Efficiency |
eDiscovery streamlines the process of finding and producing relevant information, saving time and resources. |
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Risk Mitigation |
eDiscovery can help organisations identify and address potential risks associated with data breaches or other security incidents. |
What are common use cases for eDiscovery solutions?
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The most common use cases include |
Description |
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Preparation for pending litigation |
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Responding to regulatory matters |
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Compliance with external, third-party investigations or audits |
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Compliance with external, third-party investigations or audits |
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Conducting of internal investigations (such as policy enforcement or HR incidents) |
Which sectors benefit from eDiscovery?
eDiscovery is relevant to any organisation when faced with a HR investigation, Data Subject Matter Request, legal dispute. For Example:
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Sector |
Description |
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Law Firms |
Get faster results, lower your firm’s costs, and grow your business with one secure flexible service from VMGroup |
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State Agencies |
Bring speed and confidence to all your legal data projects with a FedRAMP authorised solution and VMGroup’s expertise |
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Education |
VMGroup can assist with complex and large investigations |
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Corporates |
Drive time and cost savings during e-discovery, investigations, contract review, and more. VMGroup use industry aligned solutions for Financial Services, Insurance, Medical, Healthcare, etc. |
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Local Authorities |
Outsource eDiscovery tasks to VMGroup as your trusted eDiscovery partner |
What are the stages of the eDiscovery Process?
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Topic |
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Early Case Assessment |
Early Case Assessment is the process of quickly evaluating the scope, risks, and costs of discovery at the beginning of a legal matter. The goal is to understand:
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Identify custodians & data sources |
Identification of custodians – ie key employees, emails systems, shared drives to assist in locating relevant ESI within an organisation's systems, including emails, documents, databases, and other electronic files and devices. |
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Preservation |
Ensuring that ESI is protected from alteration or deletion during the discovery process. |
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Collection |
Gathering the identified ESI for review and production. |
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Processing |
Reducing the dataset by filtering, deduplication, and culling irrelevant files using tools such as keyword searches, document file type identification and so fort. Convert data into reviewable formats. |
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Review |
Examining the ESI to determine its relevance to the case or investigation. |
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Analysis |
Using tools and techniques to understand the content, context, patterns and relationships within the ESI. |
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Production |
Delivering responsive ESI , non-privileged documents to the opposing party. Must follow agreed formats (e.g., TIFF, PDF, native files, metadata included). |
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Presentation |
Using ESI as evidence in depositions, hearings, or trial. Preparing exhibits, timelines, reports affidavits or demonstratives for court |
What types of Electronic Stored Information (ESI) are included?
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ESI
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Description |
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Examples of ESI (Electronic Stored Information) |
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What platforms and devices are commonly included in EDiscoveries?
While the eDiscovery process and the need for eDiscovery compliance extends to all forms of electronically stored information, organisations have had an increasing need to focus on specifica environments - includeing Microsoft 365 and laptop devices.
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Information Store |
Description |
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Microsoft 365 eDiscovery |
Microsoft 365 is one of the most common office productivity solutions in the world. It contains critical files, emails, and messages, all of which are commonly relevant for litigation and regulatory purposes, making O365 Electronic Discovery a critical need for today’s organizations. An effective O365 eDiscovery solution should comprehensively cover Exchange. |
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Endpoint eDiscovery |
eDiscovery compliance also extends to user laptops and desktops. With the rapid increase in remote work, endpoint device usage has skyrocketing – driving more data at the edge (and outside of corporate governed networks). |
VMGroup use a variety of industry recognised eDiscovery and Digital Forensics solutions to ensure nothing within scope is missed.
Why choose VMGroup for eDiscovery?
VMGroup provides cost effective, end-to-end eDiscovery services with speed, accuracy, and regulatory confidence.
We have extensive tried and tested experience in the deliver of eDisovery projects of all size in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
We ensure relevant information is preserved, processed, and analysed across all digital environments, helping organisations comply with legal obligations, reduce costs, and mitigate risk.
Cut costs, not quality. Through scalable review strategies and analytics driven processes, our clients have seen reductions in legal spend by up to 50%, without compromising defensibility or clarity.
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