In the past two years, 90% of the world’s data has been created, coming from a wide variety of sources. From automobile black boxes, cloud storage, and even wearable fitness trackers, data is being collected and processed in ways barely visible to the end user. With the rise of the Internet of Things, technology has and will continue to become more and more integrated, creating even more data.Understandably, the rise of big data has pushed traditional legal discovery practice to its limits.

With such an abundance of data to preserve, organize, search, collect, and produce, discovery in litigation has become an extremely costly endeavor. However, there are ways to mitigate the challenges of e discovery. Arbitration, for instance, when conducted with an eye towards streamlining e-discovery, can save the parties substantial time and money. This article provides recommendations on how to optimize e-discovery practices and procedures in the arbitration context.

The primary objective of arbitration is to resolve legal disputes quickly, efficiently, and privately. Arbitration is particularly useful where parties would otherwise incur substantial discovery costs, such as in cases requiring the production and examination of substantial amounts of electronic information. If properly constituted, an arbitration panel can greatly reduce the inefficiencies associated with the litigation of cases involving e-discovery.

One of the key aspects of arbitration is its flexibility. Arbitration panels are often relieved of judicial formalities and expressly authorized not to follow the strict rules of law or the strict rules of evidence that bind courts. Panels are usually given this leeway, either as part of the underlying arbitration agreement between the parties or as part of the rules of the arbitration institution itself, for two reasons.

To read the full article, go to JAMS ADR.