The definitive guide to executing ediscovery data collections

How to get ediscovery data collections right

Data collection is the most technically rigorous phase of ediscovery — and the one where legal teams most often get into trouble. Collect too broadly and costs spiral. Collect too narrowly and you face spoliation risk. Rely on the wrong method and your collection may not hold up to judicial scrutiny. This best practice guide from Nextpoint's Professional Services team gives you the strategy, frameworks, and decision tools to get it right.

What is ediscovery data collection?

Ediscovery data collection is the process of identifying and gathering potentially relevant electronically stored information — emails, files, cloud data, mobile content, and more — in a way that preserves its evidentiary integrity and holds up to judicial scrutiny. Getting the scope, method, and documentation right up front is what separates a defensible collection from one that invites a spoliation challenge later.

5 things you’ll learn from this guide:

1. How to build a collection strategy that fits your matter. Not every matter calls for the same approach. This guide walks you through the strategic questions that should shape every collection decision: scope, timing, sensitive data considerations, and when to bring in outside experts.
2. How to identify the right custodians — and narrow scope without losing ground. Custodian count is a primary cost driver in ediscovery. This guide explains how to narrow scope strategically — through custodian questionnaires, sampling protocols, and agreements with opposing parties — without creating risk. Learn how courts and requesting agencies view scope decisions, and how to document your rationale.
3. Where data lives — and what it takes to collect it. Active files, cloud platforms, mobile devices, offline archives, backup tapes, hidden or fragmented data — each source category requires a different collection methodology. This guide maps the full data source landscape and explains what to expect from each, so your team can plan resources and tools before collection begins, not during it.
4. Which collection method is right for your situation. Employee self-collection, IT-assisted collection, external experts, remote collection — each has tradeoffs in cost, defensibility, and risk. This guide breaks down the pros and cons of each approach, and gives you the eight questions to answer before selecting a method. The wrong choice can cost you in court; the right one can save you significantly.
5. The four best practices every collection team should follow. Collect only what you need. Be proactive about challenges. Phase your collections. Build a centralized ESI repository you can reuse across matters. These four principles are the foundation of every defensible, cost-controlled collection — and this guide explains exactly how to put each one into practice.

What are the different data source categories in ediscovery collection?

Data sources generally fall into five categories, each requiring a different collection approach: active sources (email and files in regular use, typically easiest to collect), cloud and mobile sources (social media, cloud platforms, and mobile devices — often outside IT's direct purview and requiring more sophisticated tools), offline sources (archived data and paper documents, usually straightforward if the location is known), backup sources (data on backup tapes or disaster recovery systems, often compressed and hard to search), and hidden sources (deleted or fragmented files that require specialized recovery tools).

What are the main ediscovery collection methods, and which is riskiest?

Employee self-collection is generally considered the riskiest method, since most employees aren't trained to avoid errors or overlook key documents, and courts have questioned whether it counts as a defensible response. IT-assisted collection is the most common approach but can pull IT staff away from other work and tends toward over-collection without clear legal guidance. External collection by a third-party expert holds up best under judicial scrutiny but costs more. Remote collection — using a centralized system integrated with company data sources — requires upfront investment but is often the most efficient option for organizations with frequent collection needs.

Data collection mistakes are hard to undo and easy to avoid. With the right strategy in place before collection begins, your team can move faster, spend less, and build a defensible record that holds up at every stage of litigation.