Los Angeles eDiscovery Collection, Processing and Production
Every Custodian, Every Version, One Clean Production
Los Angeles matters scatter their records across employees, contractors, studio workspaces and accounts the client owns but never administers. Global Digital Forensics finds those sources, collects them with their metadata, versions and family relationships intact, and proves the production matches what was collected. We own our processing software, so hosting is scaled to the matter and every delivery reconciles against the collection manifest.
The engagement
Map the Project Before the Custodian List
Call the Los Angeles office at (310) 694-3094, or the 24/7 hotline at (800) 868-8189 when a hold has to go out today. A Los Angeles commercial dispute pulls in project staff, outside contractors and collaboration accounts the client pays for but nobody administers, and a custodian list alone misses the shared drive or project workspace where the relevant record actually lives. We build the source map with counsel and the authorized administrators before the first export runs.
On a media or design project, the final deliverable, the source material, the versions, the linked files and the review comments are separate records. A flattened PDF or a rendered video can answer a content question and still lose the history the review needs. We agree which relationships matter and which formats the receiving platform can process, then prove the choice on an authorized sample before committing to a large export.
We run the collection the legal team directs, record every limitation in the manifest and reconcile the handoff against it. GDF has supported discovery for law firms and companies since 1992, and because we own our processing software, processing and hosting are priced to the matter rather than to a vendor’s minimum.
Bring the custodian list and the systems nobody administers to the first conversation and the source map starts there.
Scope
Custodian and project mapping
We connect people to shared workspaces, mailboxes, mobile business messages and project repositories, and we identify the outside owners and inactive accounts that a custodian list leaves out.
Preservation and acquisition
We record the authorized sources, dates, permissions and export methods, and we track unavailable data and collection errors alongside the sources that completed.
Processing and delivery
We agree filters, deduplication treatment, metadata fields, family relationships and load file requirements, then reconcile the delivered records against the collection manifest.
Evidence commonly reviewed
What We Collect
We collect native project files, attachments and the available version history, authorized email, chat and cloud storage exports with their source identifiers, and the collection logs, search definitions, hash records and transfer manifests that let anyone reconstruct how the set was built.
What you receive
What Your Review Team Receives
You receive a custodian and source matrix showing ownership and collection status, documented collection batches with their filters and unresolved exceptions, and an agreed review ready delivery with processing notes and reconciliation counts.
If the review platform is already chosen, tell us which one and the delivery is planned to its fields from the start.
Prove the Links Survive Before the Big Export
We start with a representative authorized sample and check whether comments, attachments, embedded links and file versions come through the chosen method. A chat message that points to a cloud document is not a preserved copy of that document, and a review team that learns about the gap during planning has an easy fix; one that learns about it after production has a motion to answer.
Four questions settle most of the planning. Who controls export access: the client, a vendor or an individual? Is the relevant record the current file, a historical revision or both? How will media and project files too large for an ordinary review platform be handled? And how will encrypted, corrupt and inaccessible items be logged, so every absence in the production has a documented reason?
For rolling deliveries we keep batch identifiers and custodian associations so the receiving team can tell additions from duplicates, and we confirm the receiving platform and its required fields before building load files. Collection, processing and production each pass their own acceptance check before anything ships. Request a free consultation and we will walk through the source map for your matter.
Frequently asked
eDiscovery Answers for Los Angeles Litigators
Can you collect only the relevant project records?
Yes, where the source supports a targeted export and the preservation scope allows it. We record the filters, the date ranges and the excluded locations, so the collection is described exactly for what it is when the other side asks.
Does exporting a mailbox preserve every linked file?
Often not. A message may hold only a link to a file stored in OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive. We find those links during planning and collect the linked records as their own authorized source when the matter needs them.
Who decides what is produced?
Counsel makes the legal calls on scope, privilege and production. We carry them out technically and document every processing step, so each choice can be explained at a meet and confer or to the court.
More Los Angeles Practices and the National Method
National eDiscovery Collections methods and scope
- Los Angeles Computer Forensics Expert Witness
- Los Angeles Computer and Hard Drive Forensics
- Los Angeles Mobile Device Forensics
- Los Angeles Penetration Testing
- Los Angeles Vulnerability Assessments
Los Angeles computer forensics and security services
NIST SP 800-86, Guide to Integrating Forensic Techniques into Incident Response
Outline the Projects, Custodians and Deadlines
A short nonconfidential note is enough to start: the projects, the custodians, the systems and the dates the court has set. We agree access, collection boundaries and a protected exchange method before anything moves.
Test the Handoff Before the Full Production
For a project or media matter, bring the native project, its versions, the linked assets, the comments and the owners of each custodian and source. Volume, access, encryption and vendor held material all shape the collection and production path, and knowing them early keeps the budget honest.
Our manifest separates the final deliverable, the source recording, each project version and any linked asset still outstanding, and records the source identifiers, the family and dependency relationships, the collection dates and the version exceptions. We map the requested fields and load an authorized sample into the receiving system first, so the full production loads cleanly the first time.
The sample handoff distinguishes an editable project from its rendered output and identifies the links that will fail outside the original workspace. We confirm the supported packaging and native review tools, then record the missing media, the plugin dependencies and the inaccessible versions. Any specialist conversion or translation is agreed as a separate role.
Central District of California court information · Microsoft Purview eDiscovery documentation
For the phones in the same matter, see how Los Angeles phone evidence is collected into the same review set.
Talk with an examiner
Map the Los Angeles Sources Before You Collect
List the custodians, the systems and the review deadline. A senior examiner will come back on access, scope and delivery format, in confidence.
Since 1992 · Los Angeles office (310) 694-3094 · Owned processing software
Start here
Collect It Once, With Its Relationships Intact
On the first call a senior examiner hears the matter, tells you which holds and exports should happen now, and outlines the collection, the processing and the production schedule. The consultation is free and confidential.
24/7 hotline: (800) 868-8189
Reviewed by Joseph Caruso, Founder, CEO and CTO, CISSP. Last reviewed .