Join Ipro’s Director of Product, Aaron Swenson, as he reviews the all NEW Ipro for enterprise, and how it helps corporations quickly respond to subpoena requests, complex litigation, and internal investigations, while reducing overall cost and risk..
In this webinar showcase you will learn:
How your legal team can reduce risk and costs by culling irrelevant documents and intellectual property sent to outside counsel
How the latest in AI, Advanced Analytics, and Data Visualization help your team quickly uncover facts in ways that would be impossible with traditional linear search
How the new consumer-modeled interface empowers internal and external legal teams to effortlessly collaborate while maintaining a high degree of data security and compliance
Flexible, Scalable, Powerful
Ipro for enterprise can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid, giving you absolute flexibility to manage environments and hosting costs.
Ipro Chats with George Socha About eDiscovery Trends for 2020
It’s that time again where everyone is posting their predictions on the most important trends in eDiscovery for the new year. Luckily, I had the good fortune to recently speak with one of the industry’s leading voices, George Socha, about where he thinks the focus will be in 2020.
He targeted three areas which are emerging, expanding, and going to “hugely change the eDiscovery landscape we face.”
Here are some of the highlights:
Mobile:
“If you think of how we live our lives today – how we communicate with people and the device we constantly have with us, tracking communications, giving us access to data, tracking where we go, what we do, what we buy, what websites we visit – it’s with our mobile devices.
“And If the goal of eDiscovery, of discovery in litigation and investigations, is to figure out what happened, you have to get to the content on those devices, and the content not on but available through those devices.
“All too often, the cost and inconvenience of collecting mobile data is an insurmountable barrier. Then the next barrier we must get past is in processing that data in a way that actually makes it available and usable on a reliable basis. And then after that, the display of that content within the tools we use for analyzing and reviewing it, so it can be worked with intelligibly.”
AI:
“There is the AI we use today in eDiscovery: different names for supervised machine learning, where you say, ‘This is what I like’ and then you say to the system, ‘Now go find more of that for me’; and then there is unsupervised machine learning, which makes things such as email threading possible.
“Which takes us to the AI we’re not using or not using so much yet. The forms of predictive analytics, for example, that could in theory guide us so that if you are answering a complaint, you work with a system that has a wealth of information about previous complaints and answers to complaints, and it suggests to you what answer you might want to put together, and then lets you go from there. That’s just one potential example. The range of possibilities is enormous and includes not only what we can do for litigation, but what we can do in virtually every other area of the practice of law. But we’re still on the beginning of the up-ramp for that, and we’ve got a long way to go.”
The Cloud:
“The cloud, for eDiscovery purposes, is important in two different ways. First, the cloud is where so much of the data we need to get at is stored today. A very high percentage of corporations of all sizes have data in the cloud. I’ve seen numbers that range anywhere from 40% or so to 92% and higher, but whether it’s 40% or 90%, that’s a pretty high percentage, and for discovery purposes will have to be treated as 100%. How do you find that data? How do you gain access to it? Can you use it where it’s stored for eDiscovery purposes or do you need to port that data or some portion of it over for use at another location?
“Then the other side is, are the eDiscovery systems you use operating in the cloud. Do they store data in the cloud, operate locally, or are they a hybrid of the two? Increasingly, I think we’re going to see systems that are exclusively operating in the cloud and storing data primarily in the cloud with data available locally for convenience purposes.”
For the full conversation with industry veterans George Socha, Derek Miller, Ryan Joyce, and Sarai Schubert, all talking about their earliest days working in legal tech over the past three decades and giving their insights into what they see happening in 2020 and beyond, visit us here:
Join Ipro’s Director of Product, Aaron Swenson, as he reviews the all NEW Ipro for enterprise, and how it helps law firms locate and understand key case evidence, efficiently run a well-organized legal team, and craft a winning case strategy.
In this webinar showcase you will learn:
How your team can upload evidence using Self-Service to quickly ingest, assess, report, and stream millions of documents directly into document review
How the latest in AI, Advanced Analytics, and Data Visualization help your team quickly uncover facts in ways that would be impossible with traditional linear search
How the new consumer-modeled interface for Review creates efficient document viewing and tagging, with single-click access to document batches, ensuring your team will avoid reviewer document collision.
Flexible, Scalable, Powerful
Ipro for enterprise can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid, giving you absolute flexibility to manage environments and hosting costs.
Ipro is excited to announce the release of its new Ipro for enterprise eDiscovery solution. Intuitive and easy-to-use, Ipro for enterprise helps legal teams locate and understand key data, quickly respond to subpoena requests, complex litigation, and internal investigations, and craft a winning litigation strategy, all while reducing overall cost and risk.
“I’m very excited to deliver this release,” says Aaron Swenson, Product Director for Ipro. “There is something for everyone. It significantly raises our user interface bar, and we are one step closer to our vision of reviewers spending zero time on product-specific training, enabling them to spend 100% of their time focused on the case.” He adds, “The geek in me is just as excited to announce our initial offering of APIs, giving our more technical users a new way to engage with the product, with more to come in this area next release. All of this is a result of our customer feedback groups: we couldn’t have done it without you!”
Other New Features:
1 Click access to review sets lets reviewers focus on learning about the case, not the tool
AI/Advanced Analytics reduce review burden up to 95% over traditional document review
15x faster processing over traditional approaches, covering more than 500 file types
Cost predictability through straight-forward, competitive pricing.
Upload Evidence
Your team can upload Electronically Stored Information (ESI) using Self-Service to quickly ingest, assess, report, and stream millions of documents directly into document review, placing powerful processing capabilities at the point of need while providing visibility into processing job status and completion.
Uncover & Understand
Use AI, Advanced Analytics, and Data Visualization to quickly uncover facts in ways that would be impossible with traditional linear search. These advanced analytics combine concept, timeline, and relationship searches with data visualization tools to provide deeper insight into communication patterns, allowing you to efficiently cull irrelevant documents before sending to review.
Review & Produce
The document reviewer puts the document at the center of attention, allowing you to focus on the work at hand. The modern, consumer-modeled interface creates efficient document viewing and tagging and provides single-click access to document batches, ensuring your team will avoid reviewer document collision.
Flexible, Scalable, Powerful
Ipro for enterprise can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid, giving you absolute flexibility to manage environments and hosting costs.
For deep insight into case evidence, where and when you need it, schedule a demo today and learn how easy it is to start using Ipro for enterprise.
There were plenty of things happening in the world of eDiscovery this year, and the Ipro Newsroom was there to cover it – Here are our top 10 articles of 2019!
Software alone isn’t enough. Data continues to grow in size and complexity & the need for that data in investigations & litigation is now a daily occurrence. For an agile response, innovative approaches to eDiscovery are necessary & rather than trying to go it alone, forward-thinking legal teams will look toward a hybrid approach.
When people in eDiscovery hear the term AI, they think science-fiction, with robot lawyers doing the work. But in reality, AI is an amazing tool, which allows attorneys to more effectively do what they’ve always done: practice law.
For those in the legal industry, redactions are a part of everyday life. But this doesn’t mean they’re mundane! Failure to redact or make sure that redacted content isn’t produced can be case ending (and job ending for the person responsible for the error).
Becoming an eDiscovery specialist can really set you apart from other paralegals & lead to expanded career opportunities, but the challenges of eDiscovery aren’t often a traditional part of a paralegal’s training. Here are 5 ways to start sharpening your eDiscovery skills!
This is where small firms find themselves stuck: either they adopt cloud-based solutions that were built with larger users in mind or they are left with outdated, unsupported desktop solutions. It’s no wonder many of them simply stick with the old way of doing things. But instead of a “go cloud or do nothing” approach, the small firm solution might be a powerful, locally deployed, low-overhead eDiscovery suite.
Most law firms see eDiscovery as a cost they simply have to absorb. Others will outsource eDiscovery work and pass the bill on to the client. However, with the right cost recovery tactics, the litigation support team can become one of the most profitable divisions in the firm or agency, essentially turning a cost center into a profit center.
Mobile phone data, GPS, social media, surveillance video, and other new media types are continually being used to investigate criminal cases and bring them to trial. Since the use of these types of data are being used to solve crimes, attorneys and courts must be prepared to handle the electronic data while trying these cases.
The processing stage of eDiscovery is like the forgotten middle child of the EDRM. Most people are focused on focused on collection or review, while the the processing stage – which falls between those steps – is just expected to happen. Like magic. But processing isn’t magic. And it shouldn’t be overlooked.
A sense of humor isn’t required to work in eDiscovery. But it sure does help! To wrap up 2019 and continue celebrating our industry, Ipro has compiled our top Legal Technology memes of the year.
#1: Defining AI in eDiscovery…
There are a lot of claims of “Artificial Intelligence” in the market, but when people hear the term AI, they often think of science-fiction, with robots doing the work that humans had done before. But as Aaron Swenson, Director of Product at Ipro, says: “In Legal, you don’t want the AI doing the work for you. You want it to help you ask the right questions, show you insightful trends in the data.”
#2 Stuck in the Past…
There’s no doubt that eDiscovery education is still a great need in the industry. A lot of law firms and corporations are left using outdated technology and workflows, trudging along with a “It’s not broken, so why fix it” attitude. Maybe it’s time they head Back to the Future.
#3: If only there were technology to help with that…
Doing redactions manually is a recipe for disaster! Tools like Ipro’s Production Shield (which is included in our enterprise and desktop eDiscovery solutions) allow administrators to add another layer of protection for documents that should not be produced.
#4: Things don’t always go as planned…
Because of privileged information on mobile devices, the courts are mindful about data requests. But in a recent case, the plaintiff’s complaint actually worked against their desire to keep their device from being imaged.
#5: Complex doesn’t have to look crazy…
There is a better way to organize and present the evidence in your case! Technology that utilizes the combination of fact management & trial presentation tools can make your day in court so much easier.
#6: Doing things the same since 2009…
Ten years ago, you didn’t really have a choice. But these days, with TAR, email threading, and concept searches, large datasets don’t have to be a slog.
#7: Perry Mason didn’t need TrialDirector to win…but you might
“Your allowing me to go into court without complete knowledge of the facts is inexcusable.”
#8: Are you serious!?
A recent Thomson Reuters survey found that only 19% of small law firms had eDiscovery technology, and an Altman Weil survey found that 69% are resistant to change. If those stats don’t motivate you, maybe this little girl’s side-eye will!
#9: Wait, there are rules in eDiscovery!?
Avoid this look from your judge & brush up on the eDiscovery rules with the Ipro FRCP Cheat Sheet!
#10: Heirloom eDiscovery
Ah, good old legacy software like grandma used to use…with limited processing capabilities, issues with file type compatibility, a lack of continued development and support. A decade is here! Time for an upgrade.
Upcoming Webinar! Learn why Ipro for desktop is the future of small-footprint eDiscovery solutions
The small law firm is often left out of the eDiscovery conversation. Faced with choosing an enterprise tool, sticking with legacy eDiscovery software that is no longer being developed, or the old standby, manual processes, it might seem that small firms are left little in the way of eDiscovery options.
Ipro for desktop gives you BigLaw power with Small Firm overhead. This is a true all-in-one litigation platform, allowing you to effortlessly manage reviews, ingest native files, and accurately produce documents. You can also build case strategy using the fact management tool and prepare presentation in TrialDirector360.
For an in-depth look at how Ipro for desktop can help your legal team through the litigation lifecycle from discovery to trial, join Ipro’s VP of desktop solutions Derek Miller for an upcoming product webinar, December 18th at 1pm EST.
In addition to discovery, Derek will discuss how our customers are taking advantage of Ipro’s feature-rich product to handle employee disputes, as well as subpoena and FOIA requests, with the added ability to work offline for continued productivity.
Are you already working with a legacy eDiscovery platform? Find out how migrating cases from a variety of other systems is a simple and straightforward process.
The short (and obvious) answer is no. Rule 37(e) isn’t going anywhere. But recent case law indicates a trend where sanctions seem to be harder to come by, which may play into what concerns in-house legal teams as they consider the technologies they may need.
A recent infographic, General Counsel: From Lawyers to Strategic Partners(released by Raconteur with data from Walters Kluwer) showed 66% of corporate legal teams saying “Data Breaches and Protection of corporate data” was a top issue keeping them up at night. Sanctions didn’t even make the list.
Recent case law from 2019 supports the lack of sanction fear, as several cases showed that even when evidence was deleted (sometimes knowingly), courts aren’t doling out sanctions in the same way since the 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) went into effect.
As a refresher, Rule 37(e) of the FRCP lays out the threshold for sanctions as follows:
If Electronically Stored Information (ESI) was lost because:
A party didn’t take reasonable steps to preserve it when they should have (i.e. because they knew litigation was imminent)
and if the lost ESI can’t be restored or replaced by simply doing discovery again
and if there was an intent to deprive the party of information by the loss of the ESI
and if the lost ESI actually affects the outcome of the case
…then the court may consider sanctions.
The following examples show that consider is a key word, even when they find the threshold has been met, as in case 3.
Three days after a subpoena, a district pharmacy manager for the defendant sent out an email stating, “Throw away all your competitor’s price matching lists and get rid of all signs that say we match prices.”
The plaintiff alleges there are inconsistencies in both the number and timing of the subsequent litigation holds and accordingly asked the Court for an in-camera review of the three litigation holds which were eventually sent. The plaintiff also believes that the defendant failed to preserve price matching materials responsive to the government subpoena from approximately 80% of their pharmacies nationwide.
But the Court denied sanctions, stating, “Upon reviewing the record, the Court is unable to conclude that Defendants acted in bad faith. If the evidence at trial shows otherwise and bad faith on the part of the Defendants is established, the Court can revisit the issue and consider one or both of the sanctions requested by the Relators or another appropriate sanction.”
In this case, the plaintiff’s computer was wiped after her termination as part of standard retention policy. When the plaintiff filed for spoliation sanctions, the Court found that the plaintiff’s computer contents were uploaded daily onto the defendant’s LAN server as part of a company policy. So even if her computer were destroyed, the contents could potentially be retrieved if discovery were done on the LAN server. Also, the defendant requested which documents were vital for the plaintiff’s case so they could attempt to retrieve them from the LAN server, but the plaintiff never identified any such items.
In this case, the defendant admitted, “I recognize fully that was in violation of the subpoena,” and later said of one particular piece of data, “I deleted the file as fast as I could, because I was petrified at its existence, because it’s exactly the type of damning information that UAS wants to catch me with.”
In US District Judge Michael H. Simon’s Ruling, he states that the Rule 37(e) sanction thresholds “have been satisfied.” Yet, even after meeting the threshold conditions, the judge didn’t order case termination sanctions, but instead chose a permissive inference spoliation instruction against the defendant.
No Sanctions, Why Worry?
Without the specter of sanctions haunting the dreams of in-house legal, does this mean they’ll finally get a good night’s sleep?
Only if they have the processes and technology to manage the exponential growth of data sizes and new file types, which continues to be one of the biggest challenges for corporations, particularly for in-house legal teams who are tasked with mitigating risk involved with enterprise data. To do this, the ability to manage data in a flexible and scalable manner is vital.
Sending a legal hold notice is pretty straightforward. Gaining meaningful and speedy insight into petabytes of data from multiple file types for investigations and subpoenas is much more complex, and forward-looking legal teams are putting their technology to work doing just that.
Written by Jim Gill Content Writer, Ipro
A first step in this process is to useIpro’s Pre-Litigation Data Checklist as a guide to effectively manage enterprise data in order to avoid potential data pitfalls in the middle of a matter.
Download the Ipro Pre-Litigation Data Inventory Checklist
Yes, it’s the holiday season, but do we need one for eDiscovery? With December 4th marking the 5th annual eDiscovery Day, the answer is yes! It was created to put a spotlight on our industry and to celebrate the professionals who make the legal process happen (often behind the scenes). For an industry that’s expected to reach almost $19 billion per year by 2023, up from more than $10 billion in 2018, there’s no denying that we’re deserving of a holiday!
However, as holidays are wont to do, they make us reflect on our purpose (it’s definitely not just about money). Instead, it’s important to remember that eDiscovery is about ensuring the strength of our justice system. It’s about making sure the legal process functions with accuracy and defensibility. One only has to return to Chief Justice John Roberts’ statements in 2015 (the year of the first eDiscovery day):
“The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will achieve the goal of Rule 1 only if the entire legal community, including the bench, bar, and legal academy, step up to the challenge of making real change. Judges and lawyers [have an obligation] to work cooperatively in controlling the expense and time demands of litigation. Lawyers—though representing adverse parties—have an affirmative duty to work together, and with the court, to achieve prompt and efficient resolutions of disputes.”
And that’s why the mission of eDiscovery Day being a vendor agnostic celebration of this work we’re all trying to do (and do well) is so vital. It’s about the entire legal community stepping up to the challenge of working cooperatively to continually achieve the mandate of Rule 1: to reach a just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution to legal disputes.
So that’s what eDiscovery Day is about. It’s about all of us – practitioners, attorneys, judges, technologists, vendors (and even writers) – coming together and recognizing how important the work each of us does to ensure the goal of Rule 1 (and the entire justice system) is met.
Written by Jim Gill Content Writer, Ipro
Having trouble deciding what to do on eDiscovery Day? Join us for our Dec. 4th Webinar:
Four eDiscovery industry veterans talk about their earliest days working in legal tech over the past three decades and give their insights into what they see happening in 2020 and beyond. Panelists: George Socha, Derek Miller, Ryan Joyce, and Sarai Schubert.
New Study Shows In-House Legal as Strategic Enterprise Partners
In a recent stat-filled infographic, General Counsel: From Lawyers to Strategic Partners (released by Raconteur with data from Walters Kluwer), large shifts with in-house corporate legal teams are showing from as recently as two years ago.
One of the main changes is in-house legal departments are becoming valued partners within large enterprises and are increasingly being called upon for their input on business decisions. From data privacy management to regulatory risk mitigation, general counsels now provide a host of vital services for companies to compete in today’s uncertain business environment.
For example, in 2017 the biggest priority for corporate legal departments was improving internal efficiency. This year’s respondents overwhelmingly said that adding to the business and becoming a strategic business partner was their main priority. This is probably a result of the C-Suite seeing the legal department’s ability to bring significant strategic and economic impact to the company as a whole through the use of technology.
Another big arena of change was the priority of data security and data privacy shifting away from in-house legal teams in 2019. This isn’t to say that data management is no longer a priority for companies as a whole but could be a result of more and more corporations creating separate departments focused solely on data, allowing legal to focus on risk mitigation, internal investigations, and compliance.
But even with the growth of in-house legal, only 14% of eDiscovery work was done internally, with the rest being outsourced to traditional or specialist law firms or to alternative legal services providers (ALSP). As companies continue putting a focus on how legal teams can contribute more to business needs overall, this could be a significant area of savings. However, in order to do this, in-house teams will have to develop mature eDiscovery processes and workflows as well as invest in eDiscovery technology.
To read even more statistics regarding corporate in-house legal teams, Download the Full Infographic!