eDiscovery Daily Blog

Why Does Production Have to be Such a Big Production?

Editor’s Note: Tom O’Connor is a nationally known consultant, speaker, and writer in the field of computerized litigation support systems.  He has also been a great addition to our webinar program, participating with me on several recent webinars.  Tom has also written several terrific informational overview series for CloudNine, including his most recent one, Understanding Blockchain and its Impact on Legal Technology, which we covered as part of a webcast on March 27.  Now, Tom has written another terrific overview regarding production challenges and what to do about them titled Why Does Production Have to be Such a Big Production? that we’re happy to share on the eDiscovery Daily blog.  Enjoy! – Doug

Tom’s overview is split into four parts, so we’ll cover each part separately.  Here’s the first part.

Introduction

The aim of document productions in the ESI world is succinctly stated by the EDRM: To prepare and produce ESI in an efficient and usable format in order to reduce cost, risk and errors and be in compliance with agreed production specifications and timelines.  https://www.edrm.net/frameworks-and-standards/edrm-model/production/

Discussions of a “database production” typically refer to a collection of ESI loaded into e-discovery software in a form other than its native (original) format.  As a result, a load file may be necessary to organize and maintain original information about the documents and accompanying metadata. We’ll talk about those problems in more detail below but let’s be clear that production problems may revolve around other issues beyond load files.

So, why is this happening? Well the first reason is because it is an issue involving technical components and lawyers, who, by and large, simply aren’t good at technology. But lest we blame it all on the lawyers, let’s keep in mind that tech people don’t make good legal analysts. And neither of them are good communicators when it comes to technical issues so the potential for problems during productions is enormous.

DIY eDiscovery company Lexbe has listed 10 common reasons for production failures:

  1. Being unaware of the rules (FRCP/state/local)
  2. Neglecting to match review requests with your review approach
  3. Not knowing the common file deliverables in productions
  4. Missing the opportunity to use ‘Meet & Confer’ (Rule 26) to your advantage
  5. Failing to Request specific file types & metadata as needed
  6. No custodian tracking causing deduplication nightmares
  7. Not Addressing placeholders, databases, and unusual file types
  8. Negotiating incomplete discovery orders in complicated cases
  9. Stepping into redactions traps
  10. Decreasing privilege review accuracy by failing to apply Near Dup checks

In this paper, we will look at a couple of the most common issues associated with productions and discuss recommendations to minimize production mistakes:

  1. Redaction Issues and Confidentiality Considerations
  2. Load File Failures
  3. Recommendations for Minimizing Production Mistakes

We’ll publish Part 2 – Redaction Issues and Confidentiality Considerations – on Wednesday.

So, what do you think?  Have you experienced problems with document productions in eDiscovery?  As always, please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Sponsor: This blog is sponsored by CloudNine, which is a data and legal discovery technology company with proven expertise in simplifying and automating the discovery of data for audits, investigations, and litigation. Used by legal and business customers worldwide including more than 50 of the top 250 Am Law firms and many of the world’s leading corporations, CloudNine’s eDiscovery automation software and services help customers gain insight and intelligence on electronic data.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by CloudNine. eDiscovery Daily is made available by CloudNine solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Daily should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.

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