5 tips on how to collect data for ediscovery

Knowing how to collect data for ediscovery is one of the biggest hurdles litigation teams face today. Data collection ranks as the second most common firm-level challenge in Nextpoint's 2026 eDiscovery Landscape Survey, cited by 34% of respondents.

In this excerpt from our eGuide, 21 Practical Tips to Solve Your Biggest eDiscovery Problems, we break down what survey respondents told us about this challenge, along with 5 practical tips from Nextpoint's ediscovery experts on building a collection process that holds up under scrutiny.

What respondents told us

Data collection ranked second among firm-level challenges, cited by 34% of respondents. Where document management is primarily about what you do with data after you have it, collection challenges are about getting the right data in the first place — completely, defensibly, and from an expanding universe of sources.

“Large volumes of data need to be collected from multiple sources, which can make the process complex and time-consuming.” — Software engineer at a legal tech company

“Data collection is difficult and dense.” — Attorney at a mid-size law firm

“Products that are not designed for ediscovery preservation and collection simply don’t work fully.” — Manager of corporate litigation support at a corporation

The underlying tension is one of defensibility: Collections need to be complete, documented, and conducted in a way that can be explained and defended if challenged. When the process is ad hoc, that becomes very difficult very quickly.

5 ediscovery data collection tips

1. Map your data sources before collection begins

Before you collect a single file, document where potentially relevant data lives: email servers, cloud storage, collaboration tools, mobile devices, third-party platforms. This data map becomes both your collection roadmap and a key piece of your defensibility documentation. Gaps discovered mid-litigation are significantly more damaging than gaps identified and addressed upfront.

2. Issue litigation holds early and in writing — then follow up

A litigation hold is only as good as its implementation. Issuing the hold notice is step one; confirming that custodians have received it, understood it, and preserved accordingly is step two. Build a follow-up process into your hold workflow, and document every step. Courts have little patience for spoliation arguments that stem from hold notices that were issued but not monitored.

The litigation hold is the foundation of defensible collection. Everything downstream depends on it. We still see teams treating it as a formality rather than an active process — and that’s where preservation failures happen.” ^{Sonali Hanson} _{Managing Partner, Nextpoint Law Group}

3. Collect in native format wherever possible

Native files preserve metadata — created date, modified date, author, file path, and more — that processed or printed files strip away. That metadata is often essential for authentication, privilege analysis, and timeline construction. The extra effort to collect natively is almost always worth it relative to what you’d have to reconstruct later.

4. Build a repeatable collection checklist and use it on every matter

Standardization is your best defense against collection errors. A checklist that covers custodian identification, hold notice issuance, source mapping, collection method, chain of custody documentation, and quality verification takes the guesswork out of the process and ensures nothing gets missed when a matter is moving fast.

Download our ediscovery collection checklist for a starting template that you can tailor to your case.

Consistency in collection methodology is what gives you defensibility. When opposing counsel asks how you collected, you want to be able to hand them a documented, repeatable process — not reconstruct it from memory.” ^{Anand Mathew} _{Partner of Litigation Services, Nextpoint Law Group}

5. Document your collection methodology for every matter 

Defensible collection isn’t just about what you collected — it’s about being able to demonstrate how and why. Keep a collection log that captures the date of collection, the tool or method used, the custodians covered, and any scope decisions made. This documentation protects you if your collection is ever challenged and provides a roadmap if the matter requires supplemental collection later.

Get more strategic ediscovery guidance

These 5 tips are just one piece of the picture. Data collection is only the second of four challenges legal professionals told us they're facing most, alongside document review, working with clients to collect their own records, and simply not having enough time in the day. Our full eGuide, 21 Practical Tips to Solve Your Biggest eDiscovery Challenges, digs into all four, drawing on responses from 101 legal professionals along with field-tested advice from Nextpoint's ediscovery and legal services experts. Download the full guide to get all 21 tips in one place.

And if your team needs hands-on support with a collection, schedule a consultation with the Nextpoint services team. They can help develop defensible collection strategy, execute complex collections, analyze and reduce data for review, and more.