| Early case assessment and fixed cost | | | | question make it clear that 'the |
| eDiscovery are two areas in legal risk | | | | guarding of information is a competitive |
| management that require specific | | | | advantage in the world of legal |
| attention. Fixed cost eDiscovery is | | | | wrangling.' |
| designed to address the financial risk | | | | The competitive advantage presents |
| associated with large legal cases. For | | | | itself because the legal process is full |
| additional information on eDiscovery go | | | | of gray areas. We know, through our |
| to The outcome of fixed cost | | | | interview series, that legal counsel |
| eDiscovery is reduced exposure to the | | | | will expand the scope of any information |
| cost and time spent reviewing and | | | | based activity. Understanding ones |
| analyzing the data after a legal case is | | | | capabilities, custodians and case |
| underway. Early case assessment is a | | | | information ahead of a meet-and-confer |
| process that can reduce legal risk | | | | meeting can mean the difference between |
| exposure by offering a necessary view | | | | 10 terabytes of information and 10 |
| into the case information, i.e. | | | | gigabytes of information, or roughly 600 |
| custodians, context, third-parties, etc. | | | | million individual pages versus 600,000 |
| The latter is a legal risk competitive | | | | individual pages. Legal counsel can use |
| advantage; the former is simply cost | | | | the fore knowledge gained through early |
| containment. | | | | case assessment to steer the |
| Early case assessment is done by an | | | | meet-and-confer meeting to their |
| organization to manage the organizations | | | | advantage, as opposed to sharing their |
| legal risk exposure. Early case | | | | complete capability. |
| assessment (ECA) can be considered the | | | | Fixed cost eDiscovery can become a |
| artillery in the armory that legal | | | | liability for some companies because the |
| counsel takes to their meet-confer | | | | opposing counsel could use the published |
| meetings. ECA includes information about | | | | financial information their advantage. |
| custodians, context and concepts and | | | | For example, if you told the opposing |
| will help legal counsel manage the | | | | counsel you used Huron Consulting |
| outcome of the meet-and-confer meetings. | | | | V3locity, they would know the cost per |
| However, it is not supposed to be this | | | | document page is about .25cents. On the |
| way. | | | | contrary, if you used services from |
| According to The Honorable Judge Peter | | | | KPMG, a very guarded company, then your |
| Flynn of the Circuit Court of Cook | | | | opposition would have little or no |
| County, Chancery Division, Illinois, | | | | information. In legal, the less |
| Meet-and-confer meeting's are supposed | | | | information your opponent has, the |
| to be about putting your IT cards on the | | | | better off you are. |
| table, what one can and cannot do with | | | | Using commodity based early case |
| respect to data, data types, | | | | assessment tools may introduce legal |
| collections, preservations, data | | | | risk your company may not want to |
| transformations, etc. Judge Flynn | | | | manage. For example, if the opposing |
| responded to a question related to | | | | counsel has foreknowledge of the |
| guarded sharing of IT capability during | | | | products you use, such as Autonomy |
| meet-and-confer meetings during last | | | | Aungate, Attenex or Clearwell Systems, |
| weeks live Panel Discussion on Document | | | | they know your capability to identify |
| Review Acceleration, hosted by Epiq | | | | concepts, custodians, etc. Using |
| Systems. He responded saying it was | | | | software to create legal leverage |
| "Flat dead wrong, sanctionable." | | | | without sharing to the world how you do |
| According to Judge Flynn, guarding IT | | | | it, can improve your competitive |
| and ECA information during | | | | advantage in the early phases of |
| meet-and-confers is probably illegal. | | | | litigation. |
| His response and the participant | | | | |