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Speeding Up eDiscovery: Page 2 of 2

E-mail threading and analysis - This should probably go without saying but I said it anyway. You need an analysis technology that threads discussions at the very least.

Advanced search -- I was startled to find out that even large companies are still using bare-bones search technologies for eDiscovery. I supposed I shouldn't be surprised but Google-like interfaces are hopelessly inadequate for strong eDiscovery searches. You need search that does rich metadata, concept analysis and content searching at the least.

Full-blown review and analysis -- Law firms have been using these for years. The platform should ideally support tagging, multiple teams, multi-matter management, workflow management, and the ability to reuse work products. Many of these products are reaching farther back into the eDiscovery workflow to accomplish ECA, but you definitely need them post-processing.

Native Review/Native Redactions -- The Production and Presentation part of the eDiscovery workflow doesn't get as much attention as some other stages but they strongly impact security and agreements made at the meet-and-confer. The features I like to see include 1) security functions to control access and output, 2) digital redaction for security and efficiency, and 3) the ability to support a variety of output formats. See "Production Pain Points" for more on this.

You cannot buy a single technology that accomplishes all these things but you can and should buy technology that integrates smoothly across the entire workflow. You also have the option of purchasing the technology and doing it yourself (useful when you have a good IT organization and corporate Legal in place) or contracting with an eDiscovery service provider to do it for you. Takeaway point: you have options. The key is to use them.