Many of the discussions were geared toward corporate legal departments from a high-level perspective. The topics that took the forefront of discussion included:

• Cooperation, cooperation, cooperation
• Technology-assisted review (TAR) and predictive coding as integral to the future of document review
• Information management and downstream processes
• Corporate movement toward finding long-game business efficiencies with a trusted service partner, as opposed to individual engagements with discrete service providers

As always, the Judicial Panel proved to be one of the most popular sessions. The May 2 discussion, which shared real case scenarios, featured Magistrate Judge Mitch Dembin (S.D.Ca.), Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal (N.D.Ca.), Magistrate Judge Lorenzo Garcia (D.C.N.M.) and District Court Judge Joy Conti (W.D.Pa.). Some of the interesting points made by the judges included:

Electronic discovery requires a new level of cooperation between lawyers, whereas in the past it was more traditionally “zealous advocacy.” (Judge Dembin)

Remember: the rules of discovery do not require you to get it all. They require your approach to be reasonable. (Judge Garcia)

My least favorite objection to TAR is: “I only got 500 documents from opposing counsel.” (Judge Grewal)

To obtain approval for TAR usage in a matter, you need to be able to explain and validate the particular methodology to the court. (Judge Conti)

IT and lawyers are often at cross-purposes, with different concerns and goals. This is where the first level of conversation needs to occur. (Judge Garcia)

The problem with claiming work product privilege on how a search was conducted is that it cannot be validated. I recommend a special master and believe that the bulk of costs should be shouldered by the party claiming privilege. (Judge Conti)

I also presented at the conference on Strategies and Tactics for Protecting Data throughout the Discovery Process. In my talk, we explored the limits of information security in our connected world, including the limits of FTP security, and the threat level associated with international government-sponsored electronic data theft.

To learn more about Daegis’ security parameters, visit http://www.daegis.com/about-daegis/iso-certification/

Our poll queried attorneys and litigation support professionals to determine what they consider their most pressing challenges. Each respondent reviewed a list of issues and ranked each as “not a problem,” “on the radar,” “current challenge but manageable,” “current challenge becoming unmanageable” or “major challenge.” We listed 12 concerns for respondents to score:

Unsurprisingly, the explosion of data volume was cited as a current or future concern by a majority of those polled. Twenty-seven percent indicated that it is becoming unmanageable and 20 percent noted it was on the radar for future challenges. While there is a high awareness level for problems associated with big data and eDiscovery, only 6 percent cited it as a major challenge.  The coming year will see that number tick upward to a much higher percentage as more legal organizations face this concern.

Costs also rank as a considerable eDiscovery challenge, and we can only expect this to be a growing concern as professionals wrangle with big data and document review. Thirty-three percent said eDiscovery costs are either a current challenge that is becoming unmanageable or a major challenge.

One of the most notably ranked challenges included “building acceptance for technology such as predictive coding.” Twenty percent of those polled stated this was a major challenge for their organization. Twenty-seven percent said that it was on their radar as a future concern, and 47 percent stated that it is a current but manageable challenge. The perceived complications surrounding this area will continue to multiply as eDiscovery technology and processes continue to become more sophisticated.

The poll also yielded information on challenges that may not be a priority at this time but have potential to become critical in the near future. The top concerns ranked most highly as “on the radar” included the need for mobile access, serial litigation, lack of internal or external communications (all at 40 percent) and training (33 percent).

Legal organizations seem to be comfortable with current staff levels to support eDiscovery efforts. The area that scored the lowest as a challenge was lack of internal support staff. Thirty-three percent said it is not a concern, and not one respondent ranked it as a major challenge.

Of the concerns included in this poll, which do you consider to be your largest eDiscovery challenge? Which is of the least concern?

This is especially true for eDiscovery.

As eDiscovery intricacies multiply, so do concerns for the security of its privileged information. Can a project be derailed by a single unencrypted email? What are the latest best practices an organization can undertake to ensure the highest level of security for its data?

Doug Stewart, Vice President of Technology and Innovation, Daegis

Doug Stewart, vice president of technology and innovation for Daegis, will be tackling these complex issues with back-to-back presentations in California and New York.

First, the Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat in Half Moon Bay, California, welcomes Stewart as he discusses “Strategies & Tactics for Protecting Data throughout the Discovery Process.” Scheduled for May 1 at 2:45 p.m. PDT, the session will explore the limits of information security in our connected world. What are the limits of FTP security? What is the threat level associated with international government-sponsored electronic data theft?

Stewart will then fly east to speak at the Computer Forensics Show in New York on May 9 titled “Information Security in the eDiscovery Process.” A systematic approach based upon a formal management system is the best way to ensure the highest level of information security. Stewart will discuss the necessity of a process-driven approach to information security, the hallmarks of good information security controls and how to evaluate information security practices in your eDiscovery partner or vendor in his session at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

To learn more about the eDiscovery security presentations, visit http://www.daegis.com/news-and-events/events.

A lot has changed in 67 years. And even more has changed in a mere decade of eDiscovery technology.

In the late 1990s, the volume of data requiring review began to multiply. It grew exponentially a few years later with the wide adoption of the Internet. As a result, many legal organizations quickly adopted the only reliable solution available at that time – on-premise eDiscovery tools. Data was stored and managed behind the firewall in order to comply with commonly held security conceptions.

While the software addressed immediate eDiscovery needs, as time progressed the downsides became more evident. The systems required substantial infrastructure and capital investment, which included staff, servers, software, licenses, maintenance and upgrades. In addition to these financial and logistical burdens, the lack of mobile access severely impacted productivity and deadlines. Even more pressing, the systems had virtually no self-service components in terms of ingestion or export.

eDiscovery tools have evolved much like television. Many hosted platforms include new self-service tools allowing users to manage critical functions and sensitive processes, with the option of supplemental vendor-supplied professional services. The increased flexibility and control streamline processes while eliminating the need for data to be duplicated or physically sent to review teams.

The security concerns that used to haunt hosted solutions are no longer relevant if you’re dealing with the right provider. Vendors for the most advanced cloud-based solutions have undergone the rigorous review required to achieve stringent ISO 27001 and International Safe Harbor certifications. Forward-thinking vendors have also begun to provide Cross-Matter Management™ tools to ensure that data is centrally managed, protected and stored in a single instance in order to avoid duplicative data collection and provide additional security.

As for the old argument that cloud-based solutions can’t offer the same functionality — the workflows, mobile access and self-service functions prove otherwise.

You aren’t at the mercy of off-site services or delivery delays to get the eDiscovery data you need, when you need it and how you need it with today’s modern, cloud-based solutions. If you’d like to learn more about hosted solutions and how they offer a more economical, secure and flexible alternative to on-premise platforms, read this technical brief.

The right amount of flexibility helps you excel. The same concept extends to eDiscovery. Some legal organizations cling to inherited desktop applications that may “get the job done” but in a very limited capacity. The software may be lacking in ease of use, features and accessibility.

Today’s legal professionals are facing larger data sets, more complex litigations and mobile working conditions. It’s time to re-evaluate your legacy eDiscovery software, and here are some critical questions to start the process:

1. Am I cobbling together multiple solutions from different providers?
2. Do I have to be in the office to work on a project?
3. Can my software easily handle any project, regardless of size?
4. Do I have to wait until my firm finally rolls out the latest release to take advantage of new features and fixes?
5. Do I have to rely on someone else to assemble, upload and prepare data for review?
6. Can I easily customize my eDiscovery software to align with the needs of my organization?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time to introduce more flexibility into your eDiscovery capacity. Learn more about how you can start the process by visiting http://www.daegis.com/escape.

Technology failed the store.

But so did the fact that grocery self-service was far ahead of consumer purchasing habits. Flash forward almost 80 years, and this level of consumer sophistication is fully realized with convenience stores such as SmartMart. With more than 60 miles of wires and cables, this successful, fully automated convenience store doesn’t even require you to leave the car to place and receive your order.

In the early days of eDiscovery, legal professionals didn’t embrace self-service. In fact, it wasn’t even an option. Electronic discovery was a rapidly evolving area, and technology struggled to keep up with it as it encompassed larger data sets and more complex matters. In many ways eDiscovery technology was like Keedoozle: the vision was there, but not the technological execution. To bridge this gap, users often turned to in-house solutions that often lacked speed, flexibility and transparency.

One of the greatest challenges surrounding document productions is the demand to create and execute them quickly. Take this scenario: With an hour left before the agreed-upon production deadline, the lead attorney on a large matter realizes that despite already turning over six million pages of case materials to opposing counsel, the case team inadvertently omitted a single, critical document. As the firm’s litigation support staff scrambles to find the document and prepare it for production, they must also attempt to contact their vendor to execute an emergency production and deliver the data to opposing counsel on time. If the deadline is missed, the firm might have to brace itself for negative repercussions.

But if the firm had been able to export data independently, a few keystrokes could have replaced the last-minute scramble.

Some cloud-based solutions now enable users to control exports and productions that previously required vendor assistance. In a matter of minutes, a single user can perform tasks that once took teams of people hours or days to complete. While a legal organization may rely on outside expertise and consultation to oversee the project as a whole, today’s technology allows it to review small portions of a larger data set, create a discrete set of documents for expert witnesses, generate reports and privilege logs and upload data to a separate location for further analysis.

After all, I don’t mind automation when it comes to milk and eggs, but for orders that range beyond the day-to-day – for example cars, electronics or appliances – I do prefer the help of someone knowledgeable in the field.

You can read more about the evolution of productions and exports by reading this technical brief: Export – Delivering Increased Control for Clients. I’ll conclude this blog series with an examination of cloud-based eDiscovery platforms to be published the week of April 22.

My parents had similar stories, but with slight variations. Busy home phone lines without call waiting (usually accompanied by “Dad, get off the phone!”), TV before remote controls and spare keys under welcome mats.

Those times are mostly gone. Everyone has their own mobile phone. TVs and computers outnumber family members. And not many people leave their front doors open anymore – either to their homes or to their electronic data.

In this time of sophisticated hacks, phishing and data mining, it seems everyone is trying to access your data. Software security standards that were the norm in 2000 cannot withstand a concentrated attack.

Your information – including the client data entrusted to you – is sacrosanct and requires the highest level of security.

Daegis demonstrates its unyielding commitment to client and data confidentiality through its ISO 27001 Certification for Information Security Management. Recognized worldwide as a definitive best practice, this certification encompasses the development, implementation and maintenance of stringent privacy, confidentiality and IT/infrastructure controls.

In order to qualify for ISO 27001 certification, a company must undergo a comprehensive audit and frequent reviews to prove compliance well beyond IT for every employee, computer and server. It applies to any medium by which information can be transmitted or stored to ensure client data is secured, including software, hardware, paper and people.

Daegis was the first eDiscovery expert to be ISO 27001-certified for the entire eDiscovery process. Few other providers have earned this security distinction. Our cloud-based solution is more secure than in-house eDiscovery products, but accessible via any Internet connection for complete freedom of mobility.

Ensure your eDiscovery data is locked down. Find out if your provider is ISO 27001-certified or visit this page for more information.

Technology has given us all a new level of independence. Thanks to the Internet, cell phones and tablets, you can contact anyone you like, work from the airport or answer any question that might pop into your head. (For example, who holds the Guinness World Record for largest collection of rubber ducks?) Concepts such as asking a reference librarian induce spasms of disdain or disbelief in millennials who have grown up with these capabilities.

The reliance on third parties to conduct daily business has been greatly reduced in many capacities, thanks to the evolution of technology.  You can deposit a check by taking a picture of it or email a friend $50 for the ticket she bought. We all pay for gas at the pump. Forgot your keys? You don’t need a locksmith. Use your iPhone to open the door.

And of course, technology has greatly advanced eDiscovery. New enhancements for hosted solutions are offering elevated levels of convenience, control and speed that simply weren’t an option a few years ago.

Take, for example, data ingestion and processing.

Until recently, the only way to load data into an eDiscovery system was to send it out to a vendor or run it through an in-house processing tool. At times neither solution was very convenient due to the many steps involved, the time required, the lack of control and shifting priorities. Imagine the effort it would take to prepare 1 GB of data for review if that data were received at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday and the review needed to commence in a few hours. Would either the in-house or the vendor approach allow you to meet that deadline?

How much easier would it be for you to upload and process that 1 GB of data yourself via a secure Internet connection? The new self-service processing tools allow you to do it yourself and have the data review-ready in an hour or two instead of tomorrow. While some hosted eDiscovery platforms – like Daegis Edge – provide this feature, most do not.

On the other hand, while self-service options offer great convenience and time savings, they do not replace a vendor that can also offer 24-7 services to handle the ingestion and processing of large complicated data sets. Quickly ingesting a small subset of data yourself and preparing it for review is one thing; handling the intricacies of a multi-terabyte project is another altogether. It is all about the size and complexity of the matter. While you may rely on vendors to handle the bulk of the data ingestion and processing, it is unarguably advantageous in terms of speed and transparency to be able to do it yourself when appropriate.

For the next blog post in this series, I’ll take a look at how technology has impacted data export and production. To tide you over until then, I suggest you take a look at this technical brief which discusses the top three things to consider when evaluating new hosted ingestion solutions.

Luckily, it is no longer the 1990s. Advancements in technology and knowledge have eliminated the need to be coy about eDiscovery pricing. While the norm industry-wide is far from “up front,” there are more examples now of transparent pricing in the eDiscovery world.

Like ours.

Your costs are clear and easy to understand with Daegis. By dispelling the mystery around pricing, our intent is to help legal professionals identify the right solution and budget for their eDiscovery needs. We offer three pricing options: subscription-based, a la carte and flat fee with managed review services.

Our subscription-based pricing starts at $5,000 per month for 250 GB of data and includes all the functionality of Daegis Edge along with unlimited users, training and hosting.

To learn which pricing option is best for your organization, email us at sales@daegis.com.