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Ensuring Consistent Quality in Electronic Discovery

By Barbara Deacon and Adrian Wagner
June 28, 2006

Electronic evidence is now so prevalent, it's no surprise that most litigation requires its collection and review. But, how do you know that you've collected everything you intended to harvest? How do you verify that what is going out the door to opposing counsel is enough to satisfy their demand, but isn't overbroad and an invitation for fishing? On that point, zoom out for an even more macrocosmic view and ask yourself how you can manage your vendors to ensure consistent quality over the long term.

Ultimately, it's the responsibility of the client representative, either a member of the corporate law department or a member of outside counsel's case team, to ensure the quality of the collection and processing effort. Don't assume that just because the evidence is digital, it doesn't need quality control to the same extent as paper. Electronic evidence is daunting and pushes most people's computer-phobia buttons, but the need for high-level, top-shelf, efficient and effective quality control (QC) in handling electronic evidence, in all matters, can't be ignored.

No specific single formula applies to all situations, and even though every case is different, some basic rules apply across the board.

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