With the Disclosure Pilot Scheme (DPS) becoming Practice Direction 57AD (PD 57AD) over the weekend, there are a few things that are worth bearing in mind when considering electronic disclosure and working with disclosure service providers.

Technology is here to stay

Although it may not have stood out in the DPS, there is now even more focus on the use of technology within disclosure exercises. Electronic data is rapidly growing, and the number of documents for review in the “average” case is increasing, yet often, only a small percentage of those reviewed end up being disclosed due to traditional filtering methods yielding low levels of richness in vast data sets. By using the likes of Technology Assisted Review (TAR) or Continuous Active Learning (CAL), etc., this can significantly reduce the number of documents in review, becoming more proportionate to the number of documents disclosed.

Of course, using this technology isn’t scary but putting your trust in the process can be. Maths and numbers can be thrown at you to validate the use of technology, but what does that mean? From what we have experienced, the use of technology can also reduce the margin of review error through validation, reduce time and cost to a case, as well as lead to a better level of collaboration between parties if discussions are had and workflows discussed before being implemented.

My colleague Harry Trick goes into further detail in this article about how invaluable tools like TAR/CAL/etc. can be when viewed as an alongside opposed to a replacement for human input - Is AI on a path to eliminate us all or is it there to help us be better?).

Involve your eDiscovery provider earlier than you think

The one overriding theme that the past almost three years has shown is that when the right people are engaged at the right time in a matter, the level of risk associated with any particular phase is reduced and long term the costs are far more reasonable as the experts can do their work right first time rather than having to unpick someone else’s work before starting on what they do best.

From the outset of all cases, it is important to get things right including the identification and preservation of documents. Early engagement with relevant parties can help with that. This includes engaging with your eDiscovery provider, and the earlier the better. Not only can discussions be had regarding the use of technology in the review, putting your minds at ease, we can also offer guidance on all aspects of the discovery process, filling any gaps that may exist (known or otherwise) and ensure there is a reasonable and proportionate collection from the start.

As with most things, experience is key. Finding and trusting someone with a process that may seem challenging in itself is always difficult, and as a professional in the eDiscovery industry, it is my job to take away as many of those challenges as I can. I am looking forward to the new era of Practice Direction 57AD and hope to be able to apply my knowledge and experience to a wide array of cases moving forward. If you think I could be of assistance to you or you would like to chat about my experiences please do reach out.