eDiscovery implementation

We combine our experience with the latest technologies to set up and run challenging local and multi-jurisdictional eDiscovery projects. We follow the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) as a basis for any electronic discovery project.

We help you to identify the right balance of in-house and externally-managed support across your eDiscovery process and advise you at every step. Whether you apply the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) or an equivalent, we assist you to allocate internal and external personnel, incorporating your chosen process with a suitable technology solution.

Information management

Information management looks to establish a common and practical framework to effectively deal with the rising volume and diversity of information and the associated risks, costs and complications.

A focused information management system helps ensure the success of an eDiscovery project, providing:

  • Fast implementation of eDiscovery protocols for collecting and preserving Electronically Stored Information (ESI)
  • Quick and reliable identification of potentially relevant data sources
  • Substantial cost savings by not having to process, review, and analyse irrelevant information

We have the expertise to structure IT environments and design information management solutions. So we can assist you establish best practices for your information management cycles.

Identification

We conduct interviews with business, legal, and IT stakeholders. This allows us to identify what types of relevant documents exist, how and where this data is stored and how best to interrogate IT systems to extract these documents in a forensically sound manner. We help organizations find the best ways to plan and execute the successful identification of data. 

Early case assessment

Once a trigger event occurs, it is crucial to get a clear understanding of the case parameters; the facts, value, strategy, date ranges, keywords, key departments/custodians, including former employees etc.

Data reduction strategies are the first step of early case assessments. By gaining an understanding of the document collection process early on, there will be cost savings, along with an accelerated review process and more consistent review results.

We enable organizations to quickly identify the relevant information contained within the large document collections. This helps to gain more control over the process, while also significantly reducing data collections and lowering the processing costs.

 

Preservation

All information that fits the defined criteria needs to be preserved. Once the duty to preserve is triggered, it needs prompt isolation to protect potentially relevant data in a legally defensible, reasonable, proportionate, efficient, and auditable way. At the same time,the approach has to be tailored to mitigate risks.

Electronically Stored Information (ESI) can be volatile. The metadata (information about the ESI) often provides context to files, with the only clues for searchability identified during review stage. This requires metadata fields for electronic files -  file name, original path information, author, subject, dates and times accessed, created, and last modified or saved - to be preserved in a forensically sound manner for authentication.

We understand the important procedures, methodologies, and tools needed to successfully preserve all documents and associated metadata.

Collection

The demands of litigation, governmental inquiries, and internal investigations, generally require ESI and its associated metadata to be collected in a manner that‘s legally defensible, proportionate in terms of its cost, efficient in terms of the time involved, auditable, and targeted so that the risk of exposing  sensitive information is reduced.

Feedback from collecting ESI typically feeds back into the identification process, which may effect the scope of the overall electronic discovery process. 

The task of collecting ESI must be performed in a forensically sound manner and adhere to the collection plan agreed  in advance by the parties involved. Having quality control (QC) features in place is also important to verify the completeness and accuracy of the ESI collected.

Our consultants ensure that none of the preserved information becomes compromised.

 

Processing

Before data can be reviewed, it has to be rendered viewable. 

To reduce the amount of data that flows into the processing and review stages, we combine the functionality of special processing platforms and best practices, in terms of quality control and validation routines, to ensure that all processing tasks have been performed to standard, in a reasonable time frame and without compromising the data or review process.

  • Duplicates are removed so that a document is only reviewed once
  • Emails are threaded into clusters of conversations to create context when they are reviewed later on in the process
  • Similar documents are identified and correlated
  • Image-based documents are rendered text-searchable
  • File formats that are no longer viewable are converted to render them viewable
  • System files with no evidentiary value are filtered out

Analysis

Analysis is an important part of the eDiscovery process. Its aim is to provide greater confidence in the accuracy of the review and identification process, as well as increase consistency of review and coding decisions.

In addition, analysis results in quicker review time frames and helps boost the defensibility of the review process.  Many tools exist to facilitate analysis of data and content. The use of computer-assisted review technologies is a popular option along with many other analytical methods.

We facilitate an analysis phase, to  reduce the volume of documents that get pushed to review, or swiftly identify key documents at the outset.

Review

While processing is the foundation, document review is the main step of an eDiscovery workflow. During this stage the data is reviewed, analysed, tagged, and redacted. Privilege and confidentiality logs are prepared. We utilize methods such as technology assisted review (a.k.a predictive coding), concept searches, and email cluster review. These are only some of the ways that a linear review methodology can be supplemented.

Production

The production phase is often underestimated in terms of its complexities and the degree of expertise required. The type of production will vary based on the requirements and parameters of the agreed criteria. Depending on the type of production – be it a native, image-based, hybrid, or paper-based – several technical issues are likely to crop up, requiring customized data-handling tasks and alternative tools to ensure that productions are prepared, quality-checked, and delivered in a timely fashion.