eDiscovery 2025: A guide to legal and data compliance

eDiscovery is essential in today’s data-led world, where legal disputes, regulatory investigations, and corporate audits often hinge on digital evidence. Whether it’s an email thread, a Teams chat, or cloud-stored documents, the ability to find, preserve, and present electronic information is critical.

What is eDiscovery and why is it so important?

eDiscovery (short for electronic discovery) is the process of identifying, collecting and reviewing electronically stored information (ESI) for use in legal proceedings, investigations or audits.

This data can include:

• Emails, chats and texts (Outlook, Gmail, Slack, Teams)
• Cloud-based documents (Google Drive, OneDrive)
• Collaboration platform data (Asana, Trello, Notion)
• Metadata and logs that reveal activity timelines
• Mobile device data (SMS, app usage)
  

Key eDiscovery strategies 

1. Prioritise proactive data governance
   An eDiscovery program starts with good data hygiene. By creating clear data retention policies, organisations reduce the volume of data they need to collect and review.

Forensic Control tip: Use automated data classification tools to tag sensitive or privileged information, making it easier to locate during eDiscovery.

2. Leverage advanced search & analytics
   Modern eDiscovery platforms offer concept-based searches, keyword expansion and metadata filtering. These tools help you pinpoint relevant information faster and minimise false positives.

Forensic Control tip: Use fuzzy searching and proximity filters to catch variations of terms or related content.

3. Secure your data 
   eDiscovery often requires moving large data sets – making it vulnerable to breaches. To stay ahead:

• Use encrypted data transfers
• Apply zero-trust access controls to limit who can view sensitive data
• Leverage immutable audit trails to track data handling

4. Automate legal hold & preservation
   Preserving relevant data is critical to avoid spoliation risks. Automated legal hold tools ensure that data is:

• Immediately preserved in defensible formats
• Protected from accidental deletion or tampering
• Monitored with audit logs for chain of custody verification

eDiscovery is cyber security

In 2025, eDiscovery isn’t just about legal compliance – it’s a critical part of your cyber resilience strategy. By adopting proactive data governance, AI-powered review and secure handling practices, businesses can minimise risks, cut costs, and stay compliant.

Ready to strengthen your strategy?

Whether you’re facing a regulatory inquiry or preparing for litigation, your approach to electronic discovery matters. We’ll help you review your current processes, shore up security gaps, and implement tools that bring clarity, speed, and confidence.

Contact us today