Situation

Our law firm client assisted their client in relation to a large Supreme Court contractual dispute. Their client collected 120GB of data that would need to be put through our eDiscovery process to comply with their disclosure obligations. Our law firm client had concerns about the collection process adopted by their client and the impact it may have on data integrity. Our client was also concerned about the collection being compliant with an agreed document management plan and exchange protocol.

Solution

We undertook a brief audit of the collected data prior to undertaking any substantive work, which included a review of the relevant metadata and discussions with the end-client stakeholder who undertook the collection. Our collection expert was able to identify that some risky culling methods had been adopted (key word searching in outlook and using windows explorer searches) which undermined the accuracy of the reviewable data set. We also identified that the process adopted for extracting the data from its source had inadvertently modified the document information/metadata making it non-compliant with the protocol. This modification also had the potential to undermine the accuracy of the subsequent eDiscovery processes. A small report was generated highlighting these issues and their relevant risks, along with a process for rectification. The end-client acknowledged the risks and was happy to have the data re-collected under our supervision.

Impact

• The impact this solution had was immense. It ensured that the client:

• Understood the risks posed by the collection undertaken by their end-client, including the impact it might have on the technical work they might undertake in the matter and their compliance with the Court’s requirements

• Understood the cost and time associated with rectifying the collection deficiencies

• Was empowered to have the conversation with their end-client about these matters and convince them of the need to undertake this work in the right manner; and

• Could take full advantage of the technology’s assistance in this matter and comply with the Court’s requirements.