What Are eDiscovery 'Tags'? And Which Software Handles Them Best?

23 January 2020 by Anith eDiscovery tags tagging

Takeaway: Tags are virtual ‘sticky notes’ that you attach to documents, making them easier to find. They help you stay organized and build a defensible case. So, choose eDiscovery software like GoldFynch that lets you: (1) Add and remove tags in seconds, (2) Create ‘quick’ tags, (3) Tag files in bulk, (4) Tag ‘file families,’ (5) Add notes to tags, (6) Use tags for reports and ‘productions.’

Think of eDiscovery tags as ‘virtual’ sticky notes.

How do you track and organize your eDiscovery documents? With paper documents, you’d use color-coded sticky notes on them, with scribbled keywords to give you some context. And you’d go through all the documents manually, searching for the relevant sticky notes. With eDiscovery, though, you’re dealing with electronic documents (like Word documents, PDFs, and emails). So, sticky notes won’t work. Instead, you’ll use ‘tags.’ Think of them as ‘virtual’ sticky notes that you attach to a document – making it easier to find. And when you’ve tagged a bunch of documents, your eDiscovery software will pull up – with a single click – all the ones with the same tag.

‘Tagging’ helps you build a solid, defensible case.

The art of eDiscovery lies in uncovering the ‘story’ of your case: Who did what and to whom? When did they do it? Why did they do it? And so on. But to complement this art, you’ll need the right tools – ‘tags’ being one of them. As you uncover patterns in your case, you’ll notice a network of associated files. And you’ll keep track of these associations using tags. So, the better your tagging system, the more solid and defensible your case.

So, what tagging features should your eDiscovery software have?

Adding and removing tags in seconds. Adding and removing tags should be intuitive. With eDiscovery applications like GoldFynch, for example, you tag a file by clicking on it, then clicking an ‘add tag’ button to choose from a list of existing tags. If you want to create a new tag category, then you’ll type it into the tag ‘search bar’ and click on ‘new’ to add it to the existing tag list. To delete a tag, you’ll just click the ‘x’ next to it. Note that all this takes just seconds!
Creating ‘quick tags’ to save time. eDiscovery applications usually let you create dozens of tags. But there’s not enough place to display all these tag options. So, you’ll use the tag ‘search bar’ to find the tag you want. What if you end up only using 2 or 3 tags for most of your files, though? It’s a pain to keep using the search bar to find them. That’s when it’s useful to be able to convert them to ‘quick tags.’ These work the same as regular tags but are always on display – making them easy to find and use. This saves you a lot of time.
Tagging files in bulk. The best eDiscovery applications let you tag files in bulk. That means you can click on multiple files and add the same tag to them all in one shot. And if you tag a folder, it automatically tags all its subfolders and files too.
Tagging ‘file families.’ This is a more specific type of bulk tagging. A ‘file family’ is a group of associated files – for example, an email (a ‘parent’ file) and its attachments (the ‘children’). A good eDiscovery application will give you the option of automatically tagging a file’s entire family. That way, if you tag an email as ‘confidential,’ the email attachments would automatically get tagged as well.
Adding notes to give context. Your eDiscovery review becomes so much easier when you can add notes to your tags. This way, you can explain why you’re adding the tag – which gives it some context for later on. [Note: It’s worth finding eDiscovery software that lets you add comments and annotations to individual files too, not just its tags.]*
Using tags for reports and ‘productions.’ eDiscovery applications like GoldFynch use tags to pull up files for production. That way, you create productions around related files – which is really how eDiscovery should work. The best eDiscovery applications also let you use tags to pull up files for case reports. [Note: Case reports are a summary of the files in your case, and they display file metadata like the names of the files, their Bates numbers, their custodians’ names, when they were created, how many pages they have (if applicable), etc.]

Want Discovery software that simplifies tagging? Try GoldFynch.

It’s a fresh, adaptable eDiscovery application with all the features that a discerning small-to-medium size law firm needs.

It costs just $27 a month for a 3 GB case: That’s much less–every month–than the nearest comparable software. And hundreds of dollars less than many others. With GoldFynch, you know what you’re paying for exactly – its pricing is simple and readily available on the website.
It’s easy to budget for. GoldFynch has a flat, prorated rate. With legacy software, your bill changes depending on how much data you use.
It takes just minutes to get going. It runs in the Cloud, so you use it through your web browser (Google Chrome recommended). No installation. No sales calls or emails. Plus, you get a free, fully-functional trial case (0.5 GB of data and processing cap of 1 GB), without adding a credit card.
It can handle even the largest cases. GoldFynch scales from small to large, since it’s in the Cloud. So, choose from a range of case sizes (3 GB to 100 GB, and more) and don’t waste money on space you don’t need.
You can access it from anywhere. And 24/7. All your files are backed up and secure in the Cloud. And you can monitor its servers here.
You won’t have to worry about technical stuff. It’s designed, developed, and run by the same team. So, its technical support isn’t outsourced. Which means you get prompt and reliable service.

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