Grading Papers: Measuring Human Review, Testing Classifiers Series Part 3
Just as a search or a TAR tool is making a series of binary classification decisions, so too are your human reviewers, and the quality of those reviewers’ decisions can be assessed in a similar manner to how you assessed the quality of a search classifier. Depending on the scale of your review project, employing these assessment methods can be more efficient and informative.
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Show Your Work: Contingency Tables and Error Margins, Testing Classifiers Series Part 2
Sampling can be used to test your search classifiers – whether keyword searches, TAR software, or other tools – by calculating their recall (efficacy) and precision (efficiency). Doing so requires a previously-reviewed control set, contingency tables, and some simple math.
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Pop Quiz: How Do You Test a Search?, Testing Classifiers Series Part 1
Beyond estimating prevalence, there are other opportunities to replace informal sampling of unknown reliability with formal sampling of precise reliability. Imagine iteratively refining searches for your own use, or negotiating with another party about which searches should be used, armed with precise, reliable information about their relative efficacy. Using sampling to test classifiers can facilitate this.
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Red Hots, Hot Docs, and the Ones that Got Away, Estimating Prevalence Series Part 3
Now that we understand the necessary sampling concepts, let’s apply those concepts to our candy contest and figure out how many red hots we think are in the jellybean jar. In order to do so, we will need to identify our sampling frame, select our desired confidence level, and select our desired confidence interval.
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Key Sampling Concepts for Winning the Candy Contest, Estimating Prevalence Series Part 2
In order to use sampling to estimate how many red hots are mixed into the jellybean jar, we need to understand some basic sampling concepts, including: sampling frame, prevalence, confidence level, and confidence interval, as well as how each affects required sample size.
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Finding out How Many Red Hots are in the Jellybean Jar, Estimating Prevalence Series Part 1
Despite years of discussion in the eDiscovery industry about the power and importance of sampling techniques, many practitioners remain unfamiliar with what they can accomplish with them and when, outside of TAR, they might do so. There are opportunities across the phases of an eDiscovery project to replace guesses based on anecdotal evidence with actual estimates based on formal sampling.
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Modern Challenges and Key Takeaways – eDiscovery Investigations Series, Part 5
In part five of our eDiscovery investigations series, we discuss modern challenges in eDiscovery investigations and key takeaways from eDiscovery investigations. Our discussion covers mobile devices and BYOD practices, as well as alternate communication channels like secret message apps as modern challenges in investigations. Check out our five key takeaways after a review of eDiscovery in investigations.
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The Need to Be Prepared for Later Litigation – eDiscovery Investigations Series, Part 4
“Come, Watson, come!” he cried. “The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!” – Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Abbey Grange.
The majority of eDiscovery work takes place in the context of litigation, but a significant amount of it takes place instead in the context of investigations. Although the available ESI and the available eDiscovery technologies are the same, the realities of handling investigations are different in some ways worth discussing.
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The Need for Nuanced Analysis and Review – eDiscovery Investigations Series, Part 3
Analysis and review is the process of figuring out what happened by investigating your collected evidence, and that process is made more challenging when relevant individuals have actively tried to conceal what’s happened – or at least tried to be subtle about it while it was happening. Also, it is not uncommon for individuals to communicate using euphemisms or coded language or to communicate using alternative channels. To overcome these challenges, the analysis and review process must be undertaken with these realities in mind.
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The Need for Speed and Secrecy – eDiscovery Investigations Series, Part 2
“Come, Watson, come!” he cried. “The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!” – Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Abbey Grange.
The majority of eDiscovery work takes place in the context of litigation, but a significant amount of it takes place instead in the context of investigations. Although the available ESI and the available eDiscovery technologies are the same, the realities of handling investigations are different in some ways worth discussing.
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When the Game is Afoot – eDiscovery Investigations Series, Part 1
“Come, Watson, come!” he cried. “The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!” – Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Abbey Grange.
The majority of eDiscovery work takes place in the context of litigation, but a significant amount of it takes place instead in the context of investigations. Although the available ESI and the available eDiscovery technologies are the same, the realities of handling investigations are different in some ways worth discussing.
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Custodian Interview Tools and Logistics – Conducting Effective Custodian Interviews, Part 3
In planning how to format a script and execute custodian interviews, determining the optimal approach for a particular project requires consideration of the specifics, including: how many potential custodians there are, where they all are, how much time is available, how much money is available, etc. All approaches are one of three types. The first is conversational, where one attorney conducts all of the interviews personally, makes notes as they go, and manually compiles the results for matters of small-to-moderate size. The second is formal, where formats for the script and answer recordation for more complex matters include pre-formatted text documents, spreadsheets, and PDF forms. The last is technology-assisted, for the largest, most-distributed, or most-urgent matters. This survey-style approach can be accomplished using paper forms, electronic forms, or web-based questionnaires.
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Creating a Custodian Interview Script – Conducting Effective Custodian Interviews, Part 2
Conducting effective custodian interviews requires asking various questions, whether they be legal, technical, communication, or compliance-related. Thus, custodian interviews are generally scripted for consistency. Creating a custodian interview script is a very important step in the process of custodian interviews. The questions asked may range from biographical questions, such as questions about identity, role within the organization, tenure at the organization, and areas of responsibility, to technical questions, in which you are attempting to get a picture of the kinds of materials the individual generates and receives in their work, as well as the hardware and software they use to do it. Creating a custodian interview script is an important first step in the procedure.
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Custodian Interviews for eDiscovery Projects – Conducting Effective Custodian Interviews, Part 1
Custodian interviews are the first step in an evidence gathering and verification process. These interviews are conducted with individuals within an organization who are identified as potentially being custodians of data or documents relevant to a legal matter, therefore requiring preservation and collection. Custodian interviews are important as they act as a safety net for preservation efforts, enabling more targeted action. They can be used to gather valuable information for eDiscovery project planning by informing downstream early case assessment and review activities. Learn the background, options and reasons behind custodian interviews.
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Microsoft 365 is Forcing Lawyers to Face Cloud Discovery
XDD’s Scott Polus shares insight with ACEDS’ Jason Krause about complications related to cloud-based data collection and review of that ESI.
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Forensic Overview of Mobile Devices
Mobile devices have changed from a frivolous luxury item to an essential life tool in short order for the majority of people today. XDD Director of Forensic Services, Scott Polus, shares some considerations and helpful tips when preparing/collecting data from mobile devices.
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Hey…You…Get Off of That Cloud
Managing and storing data in the cloud can be the most cost-effective solution for many; however, serious due diligence is required to ensure that all data is protected and to guarantee eDiscovery best practices.
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The Importance of eDiscovery Education
Beyond the threat of malpractice, attorneys are required to abide by the ethical expectations of competence when handling eDiscovery. To maintain the knowledge and skill required for competent representation, attorneys must pursue continuing legal education in their practice and in eDiscovery.
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Don’t Be Afraid to Let Your Document Review Travel: Why Legal Process Offshoring Might be Right for You
Offshore legal services offer significant savings in terms of both time and money, and, when managed correctly, can yield excellent results.
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Computer Forensics Examiners and Private Investigation Licensing
Most agree that computer forensics examiners should be certified and licensed in some capacity, but should they be required to hold a PI license?
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Dealing with In-House Counsel Concerns Regarding the Management and Discovery of Electronic Data
What e-discovery and data management issues keep in-house counsel up at night? XDD’s Jordan Serum discusses four common concerns and how to address them.
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The Art of the Litigation Hold Notice: Complying with Rule 37(e) for Compliance’s Sake and Your Own
Having a well-written litigation hold notice is not just essential for compliance with the FRCP, but it will save time and money by keeping nondiscoverable, irrelevant information out of your data set.
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Finding Your Discovery and Document Management Soul Mate
Modern litigation has gotten technologically complex, and in many cases, it makes more sense to let the “experts” handle the e-discovery side of things. Of course, this is only true if the vendor understands what you want and can produce those results.
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Tips for Streamlining Your Document Review
Improving efficiency typically yields lower costs too – a win-win in litigation. In this article, XDD’s Dave Jensen offers suggestions to improve your next review.
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Data Retention Policies and Litigation Holds: More Than Just a Formality
Recent case illustrates the importance of properly managing electronic data through the implementation of strong data retention and litigation hold policies in order to avoid sanctions.
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Lessons from Brown v. Tellermate
In a recent judicial opinion, severe sanctions were imposed for the defendant not properly identifying and preserving cloud-based data which would have been important to the case. XDD’s Dave Jensen offers insight to what should be learned from the case.
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Restoring Proportionality in the Age of E-Discovery: The Past, Present and Future of Proportionality and FRCP 26(b)
The e-discovery world has been buzzing over the proposed amendments to the FRCP, with revisions to Rule 26(b) placing the concept of proportionality front and center in defining the scope of the discovery process.
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The Self-Collection Conundrum
The dangers of corporate self-collection of data during litigation are well-documented. While the pracitce is fraught with potential problems, is self-collection necessarily a bad thing? Is it worth it? Should internal resources ever be used? Because each matter is different, it’s helpful to consider a variety of issues before formulating a plan.
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Getting the Most Out of Managed Review Services: Protocol Writing 101
Let your managed review team do the heavy lifting, but do not send them in blind. A well-drafted protocol will set clear guidelines and help ensure your end goals are met.
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Doctors Who Text: Is This a HIPAA Violation?
If you are a health care provider and subject to HIPAA regulations, texting anything that includes protected health information (PHI) is a security concern.
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Reining in Litigation Costs with a Strategic Partnership and a Data Policy
In this era of Big Data, companies can take steps to reduce the costs of defending themselves in litigation.
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Rethinking Keyword Culling in Assisted Review Workflows
With the advent of technology-assisted review and its increasing acceptance by courts and practitioners alike, is it is time to re-examine the importance of keyword searching in your e-discovery workflow?
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The Rule 26(f) Meet & Confer – It’s more than a formality
Attorneys often ask, “What do I need to know about eDiscovery?” They don’t realize that it’s more important to prepare for eDiscovery than to worry about what you don’t understand.
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