What Is Electronically Stored Information (ESI)? Everything to Know

Electronically stored information (ESI) refers to “any type of information that is created, used, and stored in digital form and accessible by digital means.” 

A key aspect of the discovery process is the request for production of documents, which allows both parties involved in a legal matter access to crucial evidence. Being able to file a request is very useful—but responding to one is often less convenient. Depending on a legal team’s litigation readiness, a request from opposing counsel can leave them scrambling.

If you have been exploring new ways for your teams to collaborate, chances are Slack feels like a strong contender. With Slack, communication becomes centralized, flowing much more intuitively than it tends to over email. You can share files, start video calls, leverage automation, and set reminders for yourself or others.

One of the reasons Slack saw such widespread adoption, especially early on, was the fact that companies could use it for free. Like many SaaS tools, Slack operated on a “freemium” model, meaning organizations could use it for free, and then upgrade as their needs grew. 

Convenient, cheap to use, and a part of everyday life for many of us, it’s no wonder that WhatsApp has found its way into the communication culture of many modern enterprises. While WhatsApp undoubtedly provides a handy and intuitive messaging channel, its use undeniably constitutes part of business records. This means your enterprise is responsible for appropriate preservation – and depending on how heavily regulated and litigated your industry is, lack of accurate recordkeeping can have serious legal repercussions. 

Social media is a powerful tool for advertising in any industry. If used correctly, in conjunction with social media archiving, it can be very beneficial to businesses within the financial sector.

We recently published an article on what is needed for a financial firm’s website archiving to meet SEC and FINRA requirements. This article follows on from that one by looking at the specific storage requirements, which is very technical and can lead to uncertainty with regards to compliance.    

Both the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lay out strict communication and recordkeeping regulations for investment firms and other financial institutions. These rules encompass almost everything, from the recording of investment activities, to how client data should be kept safe, and even the acceptable use of social media.

A good litigation readiness and eDiscovery strategy, like a good football strategy, is a combination of solid defense and clever offense. If you ignore either one, your ability to win will be compromised.

Americans send an average of 26 billion text messages every single day—with the average person sending 15 texts per day.