It is 4:30 on a Friday afternoon and you have some data you need to review for an eDiscovery project. Time is ticking, deadlines are approaching and you need your data picked up and processed as soon as possible. When you’re getting ready to hand off your data to an eDiscovery provider take a moment to organize information and review your data so that you’re prepared to answer a few basic questions. Having this information up front and understanding why your eDiscovery vendor needs it will save you time and money. It will allow your project manager to begin processing your data quickly and allow you to begin your review without worrying about unnecessary questions or interruptions. Keep in mind that much of what’s discussed below should be included on a standard chain of custody form (a “CoC”). It is always good practice to ensure that your vendor uses a “CoC” that they fill out whenever one of their representatives picks up any physical media.
What is the client and matter name associated with the data? Most eDiscovery vendors organize their projects by client then by matter name. eDiscovery vendors handle many projects for many different clients and we need some way to keep things organized. For example, Law Firm X may have ten different active projects currently being handled by their preferred eDiscovery vendor and, therefore, failing to identify both the client and matter the data pertains to will only cause confusion, delays, or worse. It’s helpful to use some straightforward name that’s easily read and spoken as opposed to an ambiguous matter number or code because the reality is your eDiscovery vendor’s project managers will need to refer to it. It’s much easier to ask for a status update on the “Smith” matter than the 000123.000001 matter. It’s perfectly okay to provide reference numbers as well, but it is good practice to include them with an easily-expressible matter name.
Describe the media. If you’re sending media electronically, use FTP – do not send it via email. State clearly that you’re transferring it electronically and confirm the file path and file name(s) once upload has been completed. If you’re sending physical media then you should describe the specific media where the data lives. A detailed description is necessary especially if you’re sending out more than one piece of media. A common example of how media descriptions will cause delays is when a client describes media as simply a “disc” but sends a thumb drive or multiple discs to the eDiscovery vendor. While it may be the case that the client intends the word “disc” to mean “whatever it is I’m sending you” that’s not always going to be clear and any good eDiscovery vendor will need to confirm with you before starting work. This creates a delay with starting your project until confirmation is requested and received.
Describe the data itself.
What is it and how much of it is there? What are you supplying to your provider? It’s helpful if you can tell your project manager or service rep whether you’re giving them unstructured data (e.g. email archives, loose native files, imaged hard drives) that needs to be processed, culled, searched, etc. or structured data (e.g. a Concordance or Summation deliverable, etc.) that you need to have loaded to a database. The amount of time and work involved will vary depending on the form of the data you provide.
How large is it? Having an approximate size of the actual data (i.e. not just the hard drive’s total capacity), in gigabytes, etc., up front is really helpful because it will enable your vendor to immediately assess and, therefore, discuss timing estimates. If you need an ETA on your project, having an accurate size estimate will just about always be necessary (i.e. will your project take hours or days to complete).
What is the custodian?
The custodian refers to the person or source from where the data originated. For example, data collected from Scott King’s laptop would typically be assigned a custodian value of Scott King or a similar variation. The custodian information is necessary not only because it’s helpful to be able to identify data based on its custodian, but more importantly because custodian information is often utilized during processing and deduplication. Depending on the tools your vendor uses changing a custodian value after processing will not always be possible. Therefore, failure to provide accurate custodian information for all of your data can be a time-consuming and costly mistake.
A good chain of custody form will include this information, but it may not go into the level of detail needed to really get your project moving without the need for further questions. If you put some thought into your instructions and your process, your provider and project managers will love you for it! It will avoid delays and get you up and running in no time. As much as you appreciate finding an experienced eDiscovery provider/project manager who offers you great support and advice, the feeling is mutual when a vendor finds a great client.
Work with a KEY Discovery eDiscovery Consultant
With years of legal experience in eDiscovery consulting ensure our team’s understanding of complex legal processes. Your sensitive information is safeguarded with industry-leading security measures. We offer scalable managed services that can handle projects of just about any size. Let us help you with our cutting-edge technology to streamline eDiscovery workflows and cut costs. Give our team a call at 617.348.9360 and let us know how we can help you with your eDiscovery and Hosted Data Review needs.
