The Problem with Over-Collection
A legal team faced a complex investigation involving employee communications across email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and shared document repositories. Instead of prioritizing data sources, they collected data from all systems simultaneously. This led to massive volumes of electronically stored information (ESI) that exceeded their review capacity, increased costs, and delayed the identification of relevant evidence. They were overwhelmed with data, missing the critical information buried within.
Investigation Timeline
Day 1-3: Initial Collection Trigger
The team received notice of the investigation and began collecting data from all communication platforms without a preliminary scoping exercise.
Week 1-2: Data Volume Crisis
Collection tools pulled vast amounts of ESI from every system. The team realized they had more data than their review budget could handle.
Week 3-4: Delayed Triage
As review costs soared, the team tried to prioritize retroactively but had already committed resources to processing irrelevant data.
Week 5+: Recovery Mode
The team worked backward to identify which data sources were actually important, a step that should have been taken before collection.
Missing Controls
Lack of Data Source Assessment
The team didn't have a process to evaluate which systems were likely to contain relevant evidence. Without criteria for prioritizing data sources, they collected everything.
No Custodian-to-System Mapping
They hadn't mapped key custodians to the communication platforms they used. Email collection proceeded without considering whether employees primarily communicated through Slack or Teams.
Missing Cost-Benefit Analysis
There was no framework to weigh the relevance of a data source against the cost of collecting and reviewing it. They treated rarely-used repositories the same as active email accounts.
No Phased Collection Plan
The investigation plan didn't include stages for targeted collection, assessment, and expansion. Collecting everything at once eliminated the chance to learn from early results.
Insufficient Technology Deployment
The team attempted manual coordination across multiple platforms without unified tools to manage data gathering efficiently.
Compliance Standards
The Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles require that information governance programs ensure the "availability" of records, meaning access to relevant information when needed, not collecting everything at once.
Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure limits discovery to information "proportional to the needs of the case." Collecting from every source without prioritization violates this principle.
ISO 30300 requires records management systems to support "systematic control" of records, which includes identifying and retrieving relevant records efficiently, not blanket collection.
The Sedona Conference Principle 6 states that responding parties are best situated to evaluate the procedures for preserving and producing their own ESI, implying responsibility for strategic decisions about source prioritization.
Actionable Steps for Your Team
Build a Data Source Priority Matrix
Create a framework that scores data sources based on custodian relevance, temporal relevance, and subject matter relevance. Collect from high-priority systems first.
Map Custodians to Communication Platforms
Document which employees use which systems. If your sales team uses Slack and executives rely on email, don't collect from Teams if it's not used by key custodians.
Implement Phased Collection
Start with the highest-priority source and review a sample. Use this to refine your understanding of where relevant information resides. Expand to additional sources only when justified.
Document Prioritization Decisions
Record why you choose not to collect from a source immediately. Note the factors considered and evidence supporting your decision. This documentation will help defend your choices if questioned.
Deploy Cross-Platform Collection Tools
Use tools that can collect from multiple platforms through a single interface to reduce coordination burdens and make phased collection feasible.
Calculate Cost-Per-Source Before Collection
Estimate collection, processing, and review costs for each data source. If a rarely-used site is costly to review but has low relevance, it should be a secondary priority.
Review Preservation Obligations Separately
Issue a legal hold covering all potentially relevant systems while collecting from only the highest-priority sources. Preservation should be broad, but collection should be strategic.
The investigation failed because the team confused thoroughness with effectiveness. Collecting everything feels comprehensive, but it buries relevant evidence under irrelevant data and exhausts resources. Your job is to collect the right data first.
