20 Q4 - 2017 www.ParalegalToday.com
“Leveraging the
technology of
an eDiscovery
platform will be
invaluable…”
While sometimes maligned, with
proper use and testing, keyword search
review can be as accurate as any other
methodology.
Technology Assisted Review (TAR)
– sometimes also called computer
assisted review – is the process whereby
expert reviewers manually review a
seed set of documents and provide
input to eDiscovery tools in order to
train predictive coding algorithms that
will automatically code the remaining
documents. After this is completed, users
will generate and review control sets to
evaluate the results.
Simplifying Privilege Review
and Record Production
When review is complete, the next
stage of discovery is the production
stage. Discovery software seamlessly
produces documents in many formats,
allowing users to have confidence in
their productions without the hassle
of putting them together manually and
spending time checking for inadvertently
produced privileged documents. One of
the key advantages of using eDiscovery
software is the ability to turn around
productions very quickly to maximize
review time while staying ahead of
deadlines. These platforms offer flexible
production options, including the ability
to produce documents that conform
to all industry and court standards,
such as the type of production (either
single page TIFF vs. PDF), the inclusion
of standard load files (opt, dat, lfp,
etc.), and the output of most common
metadata fields required by standard
ESI discovery orders, and fields that
may be negotiated or discussed by
attorneys in a 16(b) conference. Finally,
built in quality control and validation
procedures safeguard against inadvertent
production of privileged documents.
Adding to the appeal of the production
capabilities, some platforms also offer
an automatically generated privilege
log based on the coding applied to
documents during review. These logs can
be customized to include any custom
fields created to designate special
privilege specifications, and can include
as much or as little information as
needed. One of the most tedious tasks
about document production is creating
the privilege log, but with the tools
available in eDiscovery platforms, small
firms can breathe easier knowing that
the first steps to creating that log are
automated and available for editing.
Preparing for Trial
Finally, after producing documents,
preparing for hearings and then trial
will be much faster with the help of
an eDiscovery platform than doing it
on your own. Again, for many of the
same reasons, the filtering capabilities,
searching power, custom coding, and
ability to annotate documents from the
platform will significantly reduce the
time spent on planning and preparing
for briefing schedules related to hearings
and the various deadlines related to
pretrial motions and trial. Platforms
such as Lexbe allow for dynamic fact and
issue time lining, which is a powerful
way to organize a brief or present a
demonstrative exhibit. Users can run
reports by deponents, date ranges, or any
custom coded issues, and, by uploading
transcripts, users can implement key
document highlighting and annotation
to prepare their supporting evidence and
deposition designations ahead of trial.
If the case makes it all the way to trial,
many platforms also allow for documents
and timelines to be exported to Trial
Director, Verdict, and other presentation
programs, cutting back on additional
time spent building the case from scratch
in a different interface.
With the Right Technology,
Small Firms Can Prevail
Overall, boutique law firms are on the
rise, handling larger and more complex
cases than ever. Attorneys and paralegals
are working to achieve better work-life
balance and also the ability to control
the types of cases they want to work
on, driving the appeal of forming these
smaller firms. Effective boutique firms
need to be “lean and mean” with limited
overhead, but this does not mean they
are unable to quickly and accurately
push cases through their procedural
postures. The boutique firm environment
makes having appropriate eDiscovery
tools critical for handling complex
document-intensive cases. With the
right technology, boutique firms are able
to leverage time, expertise, and staff in
order to accept and successfully manage
complex cases cost effectively. ��
Erin Derby, CEDS, is a Senior eDiscovery
Specialist with Lexbe, LC. Prior to joining
Lexbe, Derby was a litigation paralegal for
over a decade for both small boutique plaintiff
firms and international defense firms working
in a wide range of practice groups. For
questions regarding any eDiscovery topics,
Derby can be reached at ederby@lexbe.com
or via her
LinkedIn
page: https://
www.
linkedin.
com/in/
erinderby/.
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