Streamlining eDiscovery: Cost-Effective Investigations through Review Platforms

Forensic accountants and advisors play a pivotal role in the eDiscovery process. Their skills in financial analysis, data analysis, and investigative techniques enable them to expertly handle complex financial and digital information. Yet, the amount of documentation and raw data that can be associated with even one single case can be overwhelming.

Manually sorting through mountains of evidence not only takes up valuable time, but it also leaves the door open for a variety of risks, including human error, data security, improper preservation, overlooked or potentially missed evidence, and more.

Using eDiscovery platforms can significantly reduce expenditure, increase productivity, and provide superior analytical capabilities. It can also facilitate consistent data handling and enhanced credibility when responding to discovery requests.

Here is what you need to know about the challenges of manual discovery, the benefits of incorporating technology into the process, AI’s growing role, and what the future of eDiscovery might look like.

WHAT IS ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY

In legal proceedings, both the plaintiff and the defendant are tasked with the responsibility of providing evidence. Electronic discovery is the process of identifying, preserving, collecting, processing, reviewing, analyzing, producing, and presenting electronically stored information (ESI) as evidence.

ESI can include documents, emails, audio and video files, databases, social media content, and more. The eDiscovery process is governed by strict rules and guidelines to ensure the integrity and admissibility of the evidence.

Forensic accountants can be an invaluable resource in the eDiscovery process. They assist legal teams in unearthing pertinent information and utilize their expertise to detect fundamental issues that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. For this data to be useful in litigation, however, it must be accurate, relevant, and reliable. That’s why getting eDiscovery right is so critical.

THE DANGER OF MANUAL REVIEWS

Efficient identification of relevant evidence is crucial for investigations because it can save time and money in the long run. Collecting a limited set of data initially can result in the need to collect additional data later, which can be difficult and costly. It’s better to collect a comprehensive set of data upfront to avoid potential conflicts and additional expenses.

Manual eDiscovery methods involve the use of traditional tools like Windows Search, Outlook, or document management programs, which can lead to inconsistent tagging and missing metadata. This can also result in incomplete and ineffective searches for relevant information.

Here are a few of the pitfalls of using manual review methods:

• Wasted Time And Money: According to the American Bar Association, the document review process accounts for over 80% of total litigation spend. Additionally, time spent searching for mislabeled documents or sifting through duplicate materials may need to be written off as unreasonable to pass along to the client.
• Data Quality: One single case could entail a massive amount of digital data, much of which can come in a variety of different forms and be spread across a broad spectrum of devices and platforms. This makes it incredibly challenging to manage and interpret manually.
• Reputational Damage: Engaging in needless back and forth over documentation that has already been submitted but may be difficult to locate due to improper tagging can cause client dissatisfaction and result in irreparable damage to one’s professional reputation.
• Human Error: With manual review, there’s always a risk of costly human error, whether it’s using the wrong logic when searching or not being consistent, leading to missed evidence. This can lead to delays or possibly even impact the outcome of litigation.
• Technical Limitations: Manual review of different file types might be problematic because it requires use of multiple tools or readers. One example would be Personal storage table (PST) files in Outlook may not index everything. For instance, archived or deleted files may be omitted. The use of multiple tools then does not allow for consistent tagging because they are not designed to categorize and code documents.

BENEFITS OF USING AN ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY PLATFORM

eDiscovery software allows forensic accountants and legal professionals to process, tag, review, and produce electronic documents as needed. The right platform can help users discover valuable information regarding a particular legal matter while simultaneously reducing costs, speeding up resolutions, and mitigating risks.

COST SAVINGS

A common misconception about eDiscovery software is that it’s cost prohibitive. While it is an expense, the long-term savings and efficiencies these tools provide make them well-worth the investment. In fact, one study found that leveraging eDiscovery technology can reduce processing costs by 60-70%. When you consider the risks outlined above, the manual review process could cost more.

ACCESS TO QUALITY DATA

Electronic discovery platforms leverage cutting-edge technology to sift through vast amounts of ESI, identifying, filtering, and tagging data appropriately. Users can then leverage advanced search features to access that information quickly and easily. Additionally, analytics and data insights are more precise with eDiscovery platforms, which aid in making informed decisions.

TIME SAVINGS

eDiscovery platforms streamline the review process by allowing users to filter data and remove duplications, leading to a more concise and relevant set of documents to review. They also provide advanced searching and tagging, thereby improving efficiency and avoiding duplicate or inconsistent tags. This saves time and boosts productivity.

CONSISTENCY AND CREDIBILITY

Consistency within legal matters is crucial. Using eDiscovery platforms ensures credibility when producing documents for discovery requests. Using a standard review platform and standardized production demonstrates preparedness and professionalism when presenting information. Furthermore, enhanced analytics enables clients to speak more intelligently about their data.

SECURITY

Electronic discovery platforms have built-in data security measures to mitigate the risk of breaches and ensure the preservation and chain of custody of electronic evidence. The platforms can lock down access to specific documents, prevent unauthorized changes or exports, and remove sensitive metadata such as personally identifiable information. This helps prevent data leakage and ensure secure handling of sensitive or privileged information during the review process.

THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY

Today’s electronic discovery platforms offer a number of valuable features to simplify and streamline the ESI review process. Some of these key characteristics include the ability to:

• Automatically categorize based on machine learning
• Search metadata by very specific criteria to narrow down results to only accurate and relevant data
• Remove duplicates
• Set up specific, custom fields for search and review
• Search consistently across all types of documents simultaneously
• Tag consistently for better categorization

By utilizing this core functionality, legal teams can increase review speed by 15-20%, leading to significant cost savings.

Current electronic discovery platform providers are also incorporating advanced technologies, like automation and artificial intelligence, to further enhance and expand their capabilities. With the continued adoption and ongoing improvements of these technologies, the eDiscovery platforms of tomorrow will be even more powerful and effective. Expect to see increased proliferation of AI, machine learning, predictive coding, and overall efficiency in document understanding and analysis.

A TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS IN YOUR CORNER

The digital investigation and litigation support services at Marcum Technology can provide comprehensive expertise in data collection, discovery process management, review assistance, and production requests.

Our skilled consultants can be brought in at any stage of the electronic discovery process, whether it’s at the beginning to advise on data collection, or after counsel has gathered the data and needs assistance with reviewing and analyzing.

The sooner you bring Marcum into the stack, the more efficient the process will run, and the more secure and successful your eDiscovery process will be.