The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/116777
FIVE STEPS TO A DEFENSIBLE DATA REDUCTION PLAN by Scott Giordano, Esq. of Exterro The relentless, exponential growth of enterprise data is overwhelming many organizations and challenging their ability to meet e-discovery requirements. This cannot be mitigated by simply hiring more people or installing more servers. Instead, this surge of data must be tamed holistically with a combination of human intelligence, process and technology. The goal is to reduce electronically stored information (ESI) at every opportunity, while maintaining the ability to withstand judicial and regulatory scrutiny over time. The methodology is referred to as defensible data reduction or DDR. 40 Peer to Peer HERE ARE FIVE STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTING AN EFFECTIVE DDR STRATEGY: 1. Establish an Information Governance Steering Committee Information governance (IG) is the set of rules for determining how information flows throughout an organization, how it should be used, where it resides and for how long. Among other things, solid IG discipline promotes defensible deletion of ESI when it no longer has business utility. The IG committee should be comprised of as many stakeholders as possible, including legal, IT, HR and records management, as well as affected business units. It should be chaired by a C-level executive if its recommendations are to be transformed into policies. 2. Create Data Maps Gain visibility into the enterprise's ESI ecosystem with data maps, which inform organizations of where ESI lives in an enterprise along with particular life cycle information, such as retention policies and security classifications. The process of creating a data map involves interviews with IT team members, data stewards and custodians as to what types of ESI they have under their control and where additional ESI might reside. The process of creating a data map will inform counsel where likely responsive information resides and uncover weaknesses in the organization's IG strategy. Maintaining the data map as a living document will help litigation teams leverage this knowledge from case to case. 3. Integrate HR and Asset Management Systems in the Legal Hold Process Creating, tracking and enforcing defensible legal holds are highly dependent on having updated information about custodial and noncustodial data sources. Integrating HR and asset management systems into legal hold systems creates a real-time information feed on employment changes and enables litigation teams to manage holds quickly and defensibly. 4. Prioritize Custodial and Noncustodial Data Sources Dividing custodians and data sources into broad tiers of "likely containing," "potentially containing" and "unlikely containing" potentially relevant and responsive ESI is a relatively simple but highly effective means for litigation teams to allocate their resources and inform resource planning. Random sampling and in-place early case assessment (assessment of potential evidence prior to collection) can be especially effective to this end. 5. Utilize Predictive Technologies To Reduce ESI Volumes Known more popularly as "predictive coding," predictive technologies have advanced beyond review and can now be applied in advance of ESI collection. Combining machine intelligence and human expertise to identify and eliminate large portions of irrelevant ESI that would otherwise have to be reviewed manually can reduce ESI volumes dramatically (and e-discovery costs). Likewise, applying the predictive model at the point of collection to lower-tier custodians can also eliminate substantial portions of nonresponsive material. In addition, predictive technologies can be applied post-collection to incorporate any new information that can improve the model's effectiveness for current and future matters.