eDiscovery Sucks Until You Follow This Advice

24 January 2024 by Anith eDiscovery general

Takeaway: eDiscovery sucks because it involves complex tasks, takes time, and can get expensive. The solution? Choose affordable, easy-to-use eDiscovery software that keeps your data secure and has good customer support.

eDiscovery sucks when you don’t approach it right.

eDiscovery can be overwhelming, especially if you’re not approaching it with the right strategy. It’s not just about sifting through mountains of digital data; it’s about doing it in an efficient, effective, and legally sound way. Without a well-planned approach, you’re essentially navigating a maze without a map, leading to frustration, wasted time, and costly mistakes.

For instance, eDiscovery sucks because it involves complex tasks like data collection, processing, review, and analysis.

eDiscovery tasks like data collection, processing, review, and analysis pose unique challenges. For example, in the data collection phase, the main challenge is to gather all potentially relevant electronic data while excluding non-relevant information. This requires a keen understanding of the legal aspects of the case to identify relevant data. It also requires technical skills to extract information from various digital sources, such as emails, documents, and databases. Similarly, processing and reviewing the collected data add more challenges. Processing involves converting diverse data formats into a consistent one, eliminating redundant or irrelevant data, and organizing it effectively for review. You’ve got to be efficient and accurate here to avoid delays and errors. Meanwhile, the review stage – often the most critical – requires legal professionals to carefully examine the processed data to determine relevance and potential privilege. This task demands a careful balance between speed and thoroughness as reviewers sift through vast volumes of data. You’ll need a sharp eye for detail and a clear understanding of legal context.

eDiscovery also sucks because it can get expensive.

You’ve likely heard horror stories of eDiscovery costs spiraling out of control. The costs of software, hardware, and personnel can quickly add up, especially for smaller firms with limited budgets. And expenses skyrocket if you do eDiscovery inefficiently – leading to increased billable hours and additional costs.

Finally, eDiscovery sucks because it can take time.

Collecting, managing, and analyzing vast quantities of digital data takes time. And it’s about more than just collecting and reviewing information. You also have to ensure that each piece of data is relevant and legally compliant. For attorneys, this means devoting significant time and resources to sift through emails, documents, and other digital records. And this task becomes increasingly complex with the growing volume of electronic information in legal cases. Poorly handled eDiscovery can delay entire legal proceedings, extending the timeline for building a case and potentially affecting strategic decisions. And an expanding timeline isn’t an option for smaller clients with tight budgets.

The solution? Invest in user-friendly software with an intuitive interface and responsive customer support.

Investing in user-friendly eDiscovery software equipped with an intuitive interface is a critical step towards streamlining the eDiscovery process. Remember, a user-friendly interface reduces the time and resources spent on training, allowing legal teams to focus more on higher ROI aspects of their cases. Top-tier software usually has features like advanced search, easy data categorization, and basic analytics. Equally important is having responsive customer support from your software provider. This guarantees that any technical issues or user queries are promptly addressed, minimizing downtime and keeping eDiscovery on track. This support can range from troubleshooting technical glitches to suggesting best practices for using the software. So, insist on a well-designed, user-friendly software interface and reliable customer support. This will streamline and de-stress your eDiscovery experience, ultimately allowing legal teams to focus on case strategy rather than troubleshooting eDiscovery technology issues.

Just ensure your software is scalable and flexible.

eDiscovery sucks if you don’t have scalable and flexible software. Ideally, your software should seamlessly adapt to the size and complexity of each case, whether it involves massive amounts of data in high-stakes litigation or more modest data sets in smaller disputes. Scalability ensures that the software can handle increased data volumes and complex analysis without a drop in performance or efficiency. Similarly, flexibility in eDiscovery software allows for customization to the specific needs of each case. (For instance, your software should be able to handle multiple data formats – PST, MSG, DOCX, PPTX, etc.) Flexible software can be tailored to different types of legal proceedings and unique case requirements. This adaptability ensures you can extract the most relevant information regardless of the case’s specifics.

Your eDiscovery software should also come with a ‘knowledge base’ for troubleshooting and training.

eDiscovery software gets leveled up when it comes with a companion ‘knowledge base’ to refer to. (Here’s a sample knowledge base.) The knowledge base will typically include detailed tutorials, step-by-step guides, best practice tips, and often, case studies or examples. These sorts of essential resources reduce the learning curve for novice and experienced users alike, allowing teams to use their software more efficiently.

Crucially, the software should keep your data secure.

Legal work often involves handling sensitive and confidential information, and any breach could damage your firm’s reputation (as well as bring legal consequences). That’s why eDiscovery software must stick to stringent legal data protection standards and regulations, ensuring that all data is managed and stored securely. This involves employing advanced encryption methods, secure data storage solutions, and regular security audits to safeguard against unauthorized access or data breaches. Also, your software must have rigorous access controls, allowing law firms to manage who has access to what data. User authentication protocols, role-based access permissions, and audit trails are crucial components of this system, providing transparency and control over data access and activities.

Looking for software that will un-suck eDiscovery? Try GoldFynch.

GoldFynch is an eDiscovery subscription service with a bunch of attractive advantages.

It costs just $27 a month for a 3 GB case: That’s significantly less than most comparable software. With GoldFynch, you know exactly what you’re paying for: its pricing is simple and readily available on the website.
It’s easy to budget for. GoldFynch charges only for storage (processing files is free). So, choose from a range of plans (3 GB to 150+ GB) and know up-front how much you’ll be paying. You can upload and cull as much data as you want as long as you stay below your storage limit. And even if you do cross the limit, you can upgrade your plan with just a few clicks. Also, billing is prorated – so you’ll pay only for the time you spend on any given plan. With legacy software, pricing is much less predictable.
It takes just minutes to get going. GoldFynch 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 trial case (0.5 GB of data and a processing cap of 1 GB) without adding a credit card.
It’s simple to use. Many eDiscovery applications take hours to master. GoldFynch takes minutes. It handles a lot of complex processing in the background, but what you see is minimal and intuitive. Just drag-and-drop your files into GoldFynch, and you’re good to go. Plus, you get prompt and reliable tech support (our average response time is 30 minutes).
Access it from anywhere, and 24/7. All your files are backed up and secure in the Cloud.

Want to find out more about GoldFynch?

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