Defend on Merit – cut the costs, remove the barriers
Much of the litigation market is comprised of “fees in stages” that impact the strategy in defending claims against a given company. The costs of review being the highest, there are metrics used to determine if it is worth going through discovery and settlement without looking at a single email. With predictable pricing, advanced analytics and streamlined workflows, technology is now allowing firms to build better strategies for defense.
Technology has caught up to the exponential growth in data and the sometimes burdensome requests for production of it. Companies want and need to defend on merit as settling too early can signal more litigation on similar complaints. Conversely, plaintiff firms need to also have access to the production data and review what is necessary to prove their case. This is the purpose of fair discovery, and using eDiscovery as a weapon is becoming a thing of the past. Ralph Losey does a great job of discussing it here.
Even if you make the assumption that the request is too broad, we have modeled our process to help the industry solve this problem. Since this is worsening over time with the exponential growth of data, as a technologist, our duty is to create the solutions to level the field. Take control of your data, use the information and work product in your review as an asset, and regardless who is abusing the process, you now have the tools to defend your assertions. If you are the requesting party, you have the tools too to understand your case and create your strategy.
