Reducing managed review costs for eDiscovery is a critical concern for project managers, as this can be a significant expense in legal proceedings. Here are several strategies the best project managers can employ to lower costs:
Early case Assessment (ECA):
- Conduct a thorough ECA to assess the scope of the case and identify relevant documents, custodians, and key issues. This helps in narrowing down the dataset that needs to be reviewed, saving both time and money.
Data Reduction and Filtering:
- Use advanced filtering techniques, including date ranges, file types, and keyword searches, to reduce the volume of data for review. Eliminate non-relevant documents before they reach the review stage.
Technology Assisted Review (TAR):
- Consider using TAR tools like predictive coding and machine learning algorithms to prioritize and classify documents for review. This can significantly reduce the number of documents that require manual review.
Well-Defined Review Protocols:
- Establish clear and detailed review protocols to guide reviewers on how to assess documents for relevance and privilege. This ensures consistency and efficiency in the review process.
Experienced Review Teams:
- Hire experienced and well-trained review teams who can accurately and efficiently assess documents. Properly trained reviewers are less likely to make mistakes that can increase costs.
Continuous Quality Control:
- Implement continuous quality control processes to monitor reviewer accuracy and identify and address issues promptly. This reduces the need for re-reviews and corrections.
Legal Project Management (LPM):
- Utilize legal project management principles to plan, track, and control review costs. LPM can help in setting realistic budgets and timelines and keeping the project on track.
Budget Tracking and Reporting:
- Use robust budget tracking and reporting tools to monitor costs in real-time. This allows for proactive cost management and adjustments as needed.
Vendor Hold Management:
- Negotiate competitive rates with eDiscovery service providers and regularly evaluate vendor performance. Consider alternative fee arrangements, like fixed fees or volume-based pricing.
Legal Hold Management:
- Implement effective legal hold processes to ensure that potentially relevant documents are preserved, reducing the risk of spoliation issues and the need for expensive remediation.
Regular Communication with Legal Teams:
- Maintain open and transparent communication with legal teams to ensure alignment on case strategy and goals, preventing unnecessary reviews and revisions.
Process Automation:
- Automate routine tasks such as data processing, deduplication, and document tagging to reduce manual labor costs.
Data Storage Optimization:
- Efficiently manage data storage by archiving or disposing of irrelevant or outdated documents as per legal requirements.
Training and Education:
- Keep your team up-to-date with the latest eDiscovery technologies and best practices to maximize efficiency and reduce errors.
Post Review Analysis:
- Conduct a post-review analysis to identify areas for process improvement. Use the insights gained from one project to enhance efficiency in future cases.
By implementing these strategies and continuously refining your eDiscovery processes, project managers can play a crucial role in reducing managed review costs while ensuring the quality and defensibility of the process.