COMMENTARY: Document(ed) Solutions--Digital techniques for efficiently storing and effectively utilizing large documentcollections before, during and after trial

By Mark St. Peter Ironically, one of the most significant legal challenges confronting attorneys and legal professionals before, during, and even after trial is actually more of a logistical hurdle: managing the blizzard of paperwork and documentation that is a part of virtually all litigation. Between the paperwork generated by your own legal team and the information provided by opposing counsel during the discovery process, the sheer volume of information can be daunting. Complex cases frequently involve literally millions of records. Our company was recently engaged in a case where it was necessary to assemble, organize and manage a volume of documents that--if they all were hard copies--would have reached the top of a 25-story building. Simply storing such a massive amount of paperwork can be its own trial; to say nothing of accessing and leveraging those critically important pieces of information buried within. In the case in question, it was clearly evident how important that information was to the eventual outcome. Our company partnered with James J. Parks, a partner at Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss, who was representing a trustee of a bankrupt manufacturer of bulletproof vests against an international Japanese manufacturer. The manufacturer was accused of producing a fiber which had an inherent molecular flaw. The vest company alleged that the molecular flaw degraded under conditions of heat and moisture, resulting in dangerous vulnerabilities for police officers and other professionals who relied on those vests for protection. The analysis, research, deposition and preparation for the case was extensive, lasting four years and encompassing approximately 3.5 million documents--as well as a heavy translation burden as a result of the international components to the suit. Ultimately, the suit was successful, an outcome that relied heavily on electronic information and sophisticated evidence management techniques that would have been impossible without document management experts. As examples like that demonstrate, and as experienced litigators can attest, document management is critically important. The ability to store, organize, and utilize information--calling up a critical piece of evidence at a moment's notice when you need it most--can make what is literally a multi-million-dollar difference in today's high-stakes litigation. Today, document management experts are utilizing new technologies and sophisticated scanning, sorting and storing techniques to transform the world of legal document management. The paper trail of today is lined with bits and bytes instead of reams and boxes. By some estimates, as much as 97 percent of all information today is electronic information. With the majority of documents now created, transmitted and stored digitally, electronic document recovery, preservation, storage and management are a fundamental (and often indispensable) part of any sophisticated litigation strategy. The best new systems and technologies enable attorneys and other legal professionals to do things that were unthinkable just a few years ago, including: Store For large volumes of information, digital and online document management is essential. Far beyond a mere space-saving convenience, electronic storage also makes it possible to implement powerful new security measures. Those measures have both practical and legal implications, as the ability to authenticate and verify key evidence is a powerful asset in the courtroom or at the negotiating table. Prepare Long before a case hits the courtroom, the process of deposing potential witnesses and researching, analyzing, and preparing all potentially relevant information has begun. Managing document collections electronically can confer enormous advantages, but it is not without its own pre-trial obstacles. Scanning and digital archiving can be arduous, but when it is done in a way that makes the resulting digital archive organized, catalogued and readily accessible, the payoff is well worth the effort. Organize Experienced providers of digital evidence services will organize this electronically stored information (ESI) with a sophisticated tracking/ cataloguing digital ID mechanism in order to keep all documents in one central database. Techniques vary, but the best systems utilize a range of case-specific criteria to organize potential evidence in a way that is relevant, intuitive and facilitates rapid recall. While documents can be sorted by date or broken down into basic categories such as Depositions, ESI lends itself to a more intuitive and sophisticated sorting criteria. When sorting document and potential evidence, questions to ask include not only broad categories such as... * What types of ESI do I have? * What pieces of ESI achieves the goals and objectives? * Preparation or processing-does it need to be treated? ...but also more nuanced criteria like: * Am I trying to persuade or inform? * What story or themes am I trying to communicate? * What facts am I demonstrating? * What additional evidence is there? * Do I need to establish credibility? * Am I trying to provide context and education to increase understanding? Access Trial attorneys understand all too well that deadlines and timelines are a permanent feature on the litigation landscape. The speed and efficiency with which well-organized ESI can be accessed, and the ability to locate and produce a single evidentiary needle in an information haystack is an extraordinary asset. The best electronic document management systems make that formerly daunting challenge a routine process. Utilize New digital evidence management techniques include key-word search capabilities and other search criteria based on everything from dates and time stamps to document type, page count, and other identifying information. New techniques related to digital forensics such as similarity hashing make it possible to distinguish between two seemingly identical pieces of electronic data, including originals versus copies and subsequent versions of a file. The technique even works with scanned hard copies, using a technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The result is that attorneys not only have real-time access to information, they have real-time access to the right information. Verifiably accurate documents can be called up in just seconds, a handy feature in the heat of a middle of a deposition or in the heat of a high-pressure trial. The power and potential of these new technologies to save millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours is prompting attorneys to turn more frequently to experienced providers of specialized digital evidence services. The best ESI experts offer a full range of ESI management and litigation support services, combining digital forensics and document retrieval/management know-how with demonstrated experience and expertise in navigating the complexities of digital case law. That unique expertise is providing attorneys who utilize those services with a clear logistical and legal advantage that can have a direct and defining impact on litigation outcomes. ---------------- Mark St. Peter is an electronic discovery expert and managing partner of Computing Source based in Southfield. To learn more, visit computingsource.com. James J. Parks is a partner in the Southfield office of Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss. Published: Fri, Apr 13, 2012