ABSTRACT
Introduction Discovery is the pretrial exchange of information by parties in a case. E-discovery refers to the discovery of all electronically stored information (ESI)—information such as e-mail messages, web pages, instant messages, voice mails, cell phone and pager text messages, websites, call logs, word processing documents, databases, digital photos, spreadsheets, and virtually any information that is stored on a computer or other electronic device, as well as backup and archived copies of that same information. Technically, information is “electronic” if it exists in a medium that can be read through the use of computers or other digital devices. Such media include random access memory, magnetic disks (such as computer hard drives or floppy disks), optical disks (such as DVDs or CDs), and magnetic tapes. Electronic discovery can be distinguished from “paper discovery,” which refers to the discovery of writings on paper that can be read without the aid of electronic devices.
