Review is widely acknowledged to be the most eDiscovery expensive phase in the EDRM Model by far, accounting for as much as 70 percent of eDiscovery costs in a case. What’s one great way to reduce those costs, as well as eDiscovery costs overall? As discussed in a recent article from Ricoh USA (published on the EDRM site), start with Information Governance.
In the article How Lawyers Can Fully Utilize the EDRM with Information Governance Best Practices, written by Eric Parish, the author observes that “there is a commonly held belief that the ‘right side’ (where you locate, processing, review, and production) is where legal teams accrue the most cost, and the ‘left side’ is simply where the data is stored.” As a result, “many organizations focus solely on ways to mitigate expense when gearing up for eDiscovery production”, when they could start with Information Governance in terms of reducing costs.
Parish notes that “[a] partial explanation might be that eDiscovery was traditionally known as a stand-alone process that had a thin relationship to broader data management best practices”, observing that the first draft of the EDRM model began with the Identification phase before adding Records Management (which later became Information Management and then, eventually, Information Governance).
He also stated: “The EDRM has never been a continuum, but rather a sequence that begins with information governance and early case assessment (ECA) and ends with presentation. Logic dictates that if your organization doesn’t have a sound beginning to their eDiscovery process, then the end components will be adversely affected.”
That’s certainly true, though I think Information Governance is unique in that it’s the one phase that’s a circle because it’s perpetual, whereas the remaining phases are initiated by a triggering event (e.g., litigation filed, investigation started, etc.). The IG phase is a continuum, but effective information governance leads to being able to effectively and cost efficiently conduct the sequence of the rest of the phases. That’s why it made sense for the EDRM model to start with Information Governance, because it’s a springboard to effective eDiscovery. If you want to conduct eDiscovery efficiently and cost effectively, start with Information Governance!
Parish’s additional comments are in the article here. He ends it by stating: “For more information, take our Information Governance Quick Assessment Survey or get in touch today.” That “survey” is actually a list of ten important questions that people responsible for information governance in organizations should be able to answer, so it’s well worth checking out. You might find you don’t have all the answers!
So, what do you think? What’s the state of your information governance program? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
Disclosure: Ricoh USA is an Educational Partner and sponsor of eDiscovery Today
Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.