Government Agencies Face New Challenges in Preparing for EDiscovery Requests



With the new U.S. Federal guidelines for e-discovery, email management and records retention challenges - for both the private and public sectors - have never been greater. In the case of government agencies, if electronic information cannot be located and retrieved, the costs of litigation can include not only a loss in productivity, but also a sizable amount of taxpayer dollars paid out in sanctions - dollars that could be spent on more important priorities. How can government agencies manage the exploding volume of online content to help prepare for e-discovery requests and better address the costs and risks of litigation

Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTC), the largest independent provider of enterprise content management (ECM) software and solutions, today announced a set of strategies and solutions to help government agencies move to a centralized records management and litigation support system to help manage discovery internally before litigation arises. Longer term, such a system can provide the foundation for more proactive management of content - anything from informal email to formal contracts and personnel information - that may be subject to discovery.

"In terms of e-discovery requests, government agencies are held accountable to the same guidelines as any other litigant," said Catherine Smith, an associate with Chicago-based law firm, Vedder Price (



Government Agencies Face New Challenges in Preparing for EDiscovery Requests