by Ryan Spear
Law firms are witnessing a resurgence in the popularity of partner and firm-wide retreats.
Attorneys are starting to deal more and more with digital tools to help prosecute and defend cases. A crucial part of any legal case is the discovery phase. Discovery is when both sides of a case gather all of the witnesses, evidence, and testimonies relevant to the case. This helps avoid surprise ambush moments in a case and is a key part of a fair trial.
One of the biggest problems with discovery is the growing amount of digital evidence in cases. It’s not uncommon for evidence to include texts, emails, direct messages, and other digital content. Electronic discovery, also known as eDiscovery, involves sorting through potential terabytes of information within a case to find relevant information.
The size of eDiscovery can change depending on the size and scope of the case. On average, a U.S. civil case will contain over 130 gigabytes of information. To put that into perspective, 3 GB of information is required to stream a film in HD on a streaming service like Netflix for an hour. That means that the average eDiscovery for a civil case is the same amount of information as streaming a film in HD for almost two days straight.
It can be difficult to sift through the piles of emails, databases, and documents involved in eDiscovery, and it only gets more complicated if the documents are in another language. That’s where multilingual eDiscovery software comes into play.
eDiscovery software helps in the legal discovery process by making it easy to sort, search, and understand each piece of potential information.
What Is Included in eDiscovery?
eDiscovery covers more than just email. It can include any digital communication or document, also known as electronically stored information (ESI). This can be:
- Digital photographs and video
- Mobile data
- Electronic databases
- Text messages
- Slack and other group messaging apps and programs
- Direct and instant messaging in apps and programs
- Cloud-based documents
- Word processing documents
- Spreadsheets
- Call logs
ESI can be retrieved from a wide variety of sources. Anywhere a file or document is stored can be part of the eDiscovery process. This can include:
- Hard drives
- Company networks
- Thumb (USB drives)
- Mobile devices, including phones and tablets
- Smart devices
- Social media
- Online forums or websites
Why Use eDiscovery Software?
eDiscovery translation software helps automate common discovery steps and provides legal teams a better tool in handling large quantities of digital information. The software completes time-intensive work and automatically goes through data investigation, file indexing, virus scanning, and translation. The software does this through various applications and processes, preparing documents for discovery almost instantaneously.
Once the information is uploaded, translated, and cataloged, legal teams can begin reviewing the data. Because the information is digital and has been indexed by the eDiscovery software, it is easy to search and sort through information using metadata fields. This helps legal teams quickly find information relevant to the case. It also does the critical job of allowing teams to quickly remove files or documents that are not relevant to discovery.
SYSTRAN helps with multilingual eDiscovery. With a continually growing global economy, it’s not uncommon for cases to involve documents, programs, or files that need to be translated. Rather than adding even more time to the eDiscovery process to deal with translating each document, SYSTRAN can translate and manage digital files as part of the discovery process. This automated translation helps legal teams save time and find relevant information even if documentation was created in a different language.
How Does eDiscovery Work With SYSTRAN?
SYSTRAN uses a machine translation solution. That means we go beyond just word-for-word translation, using a mix of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and human experience to create a revolutionizing eDiscovery service.
Translating with AI helps tackle complex tasks while still considering the nuances and subtleties involved with translation. This only becomes more complex with eDiscovery because there is a wide diversity of inputs, document size, sentence structure, and even grammatical correctness to take into account.
For example, it can be easy to translate a sentence like, “Are you home yet?” into other languages because it is a full sentence. But how do you deal with a short-handed text where someone texts, “u home”? There’s no subject. There’s no object. No punctuation even shows that it’s a sentence. It’s a single letter and a noun, so how can that be translated? That’s where machine learning comes into play.
Machine learning allows programs to learn and develop beyond their initial programming. Traditional translation software acts like a language-to-language dictionary. If the program encounters the word “hola,” it searches the databases and translates it to “hello.” This works great for formal writing, but what happens when people misspell, use incorrect grammar, or abbreviate?
For basic translation programs, they can’t translate if a word isn’t in their established dictionary. But that’s where machine-learning AI makes a difference. Machine learning takes those unique, abnormal situations and uses them to expand beyond its original programming.
The first time a machine learning translation software encounters an abbreviation like “pq,” it might have a hard time translating it. It has no direct translation. It doesn’t even look like a word, so it can be a struggle to translate. However, once the AI learns that “pq” is an abbreviation for “por que,” it’s automatically added to the dictionary database. It will quickly translate “pq” to “why” the next time it’s encountered.
With machine learning, the more translation a program is used in, the more experienced it becomes. With over 5 billion words translated daily, SYSTRAN’s machine learning translation program continuously improves and makes translation in the eDiscovery process easier.
Review KPIs and financial spend through KL Discovery’s real-time, customizable eDiscovery dashboard.
With the growing use of AI in litigation and number of data storage locations, the process of ediscovery gets increasingly more complex and must be more agile, comprehensive, and integrated. The tools legal professionals need in today’s digital environment necessitate using advanced tools such as AI to locate the relevant data quickly and securing data in a way that complies with myriad regulations and major challenges.
To help you secure data and address your needs efficiently in the age of AI, we’re making it easier to safeguard and manage compliance of data using generative AI tools. Recent advanced capabilities of Microsoft Purview eDiscovery are aimed at giving you the advantage. If you’re attending the Legalweek conference in New York City from January 29 to February 1, 2024, we’d love to connect. Read on for an overview of what you can expect our experts to discuss, and keep scrolling for sessions and other ways to connect with us at Legalweek.
UPDATE
QuikData, the E-Discovery platform rising to the top for law firms and service providers searching for alternatives
Houston, Texas, January 22, 2024 – QuikData is a software development and legal services company that has been rising through the ranks since the first release of the Quik E-Discovery and Data Room platform in 2017. The industry veterans behind QuikData include the same development team that developed the “Viewpoint” E-Discovery platform, the on-premises E-Discovery platform that paralleled Relativity from 2007 to present.
For the last six years, the same development and support team has focused their effort and talents in developing its powerful cloud-based platform, Quik. In speaking with the Vice President of Operations, Greg Anderson, the message is clear:
“Our mission is to create a platform that offers advanced features while remaining user-friendly and easy to learn. We concentrate our development efforts on providing intuitive, yet sophisticated, E-Discovery features and workflows. We recognize that a significant segment of the market is looking for an E-Discovery platform capable of handling complex tasks while reducing requirements for training, support overhead, and extensive change management efforts.”
The most common first impression of the layout is that the user interface feels very familiar. Users immediately notice that they can easily drag and drop or right click and find a wealth of high-powered automation and analytics capabilities right away.
When evaluating a new E-Discovery platform, the primary considerations often revolve around its power and range of features. Key questions include whether the software is light-weight or robust enough to handle complex cases involving large and varied data sets.
QuikData addresses those concerns by prioritizing the needs of its E-Discovery users. The Quik platform offers essential features tailored for litigation professionals, facilitating their engagement with complex data sets and extensive document collections. QuikData’s intuitive interface simplifies the E-Discovery process for litigation service providers, attorneys, and support staff, enabling them to navigate the complexities of E-Discovery with ease. This user-focused approach boosts legal team productivity and reduces the learning curve, allowing users to concentrate on winning legal cases, rather than struggling with software intricacies.
QuikData streamlines the e-discovery process with its drag-and-drop functionality, powerful templates, and customizable interface, allowing users to initiate projects swiftly and in their preferred manner. This efficiency eliminates the prolonged wait times previously experienced while preparing data for review. Moreover, QuikData provides many advanced features that enable users to access crucial information quickly and effortlessly.
Sophisticated Features
QuikData’s effectiveness stems from its combination of simplicity, affordability, and a rich array of features specifically designed for legal teams and technologists. A key component is its integration of predictive coding, a potent E-Discovery tool that significantly improves the accuracy and speed of document review for litigation service providers. Additionally, QuikData offers advanced email threading and communication analysis tools, including the ability to handle short message formats. These features provide a thorough understanding of communication patterns, an essential aspect in many legal cases.
QuikData distinguishes itself with its concept clustering feature, which facilitates a nuanced comprehension of how documents are interrelated. This feature is particularly valuable in scenarios where identifying connections between seemingly unrelated pieces of information is crucial.
The platform’s dedication to technological advancement is clear in its ongoing evolution, guaranteeing that litigation service providers and legal professionals always have access to cutting-edge tools to efficiently manage and understand the complexities of electronic data.
Come meet the QuikData team and see Quikdata for yourself at booth 3116 on the Americas 2 Level.
Centerbase Launches Native Document Management for Modern Law Firms – Replacing Need for Stand-Alone, Paid Solutions
The new capability adds additional convenience and cost efficiency to Centerbase’s single-platform solution for comprehensive law firm management.
DALLAS, TX (January 2024) – Today, Centerbase, a leader in legal technology solutions, proudly announces the launch of its innovative Native Document Management Solution, designed specifically for the legal industry. With this new solution, Centerbase’s state-of-the-art platform continues to simplify operations, such as how law firms manage documents across various matters, clients, and practice areas. The new intuitive and automated document workflows are expected to significantly enhance firms’ service delivery and ability to bill more hours.
Traditionally, law firms relied on stand-alone, paid platforms for document management, which often led to fragmented user experiences and disjointed core processes between matters, clients, and practice areas, resulting in increased operational costs. Centerbase’s new integrated solution is engineered to provide a seamless user experience that mirrors how modern firms practice every day. The launch of the native document management solution is part of a larger strategic imperative at Centerbase to continue to power the most efficient operational solutions available for legal firms.
A significant advantage of the native document management solution is its alignment with Microsoft Office technologies. By leveraging these widely-used tools, Centerbase ensures that law firms can maximize their existing technology investments. This synergy not only boosts cost efficiency but also ensures smooth and successful user adoption.
Paul Bridgewater, President & CEO of Centerbase, remarks, “Our commitment to enhancing legal practice through technology is unwavering. The introduction of our Native Document Management Solution is a testament to this promise. By harnessing the power of the Microsoft ecosystem, we are not just providing a tool for today but future-proofing law firms for tomorrow. This solution paves the way for incorporating advanced technologies like AI, ensuring that the technology journey for law firms is both beneficial and cost-effective in the long term.”
The native document management solution is also a step forward in reducing the additional costs and complexities associated with using external vendors. As an integrated part of the existing Centerbase platform, law firms who subscribe to Centerbase will have this new document management solution included at no additional monthly cost, further driving cost efficiencies.
To learn more, visit Centerbase’s Document Management.
To see what the legal tech press is already saying Centerbase’s Document Management, click here.
To access Centerbase’s Press Kit, click here.
About Centerbase
Centerbase is a leading provider of legal technology solutions, specializing in delivering innovative, user-friendly, and efficient platforms to mid-sized law firms. With a focus on improving legal practice management, Centerbase remains at the forefront of technological advancements in the legal sector.
Docubee Launches New Collaborate Product Platform
TAMPA, Fla. – Jan. 2024 – Intelligent contract automation platform, Docubee, is making contract edits and approvals even easier with its new Collaborate function. Now, contract reviewers can easily make edits, comments, or redline using Docubee’s intelligent contract automation product.
Docubee has already streamlined the entire contract lifecycle, including the way businesses create, manage, sign, and track digital contracts, and now it has added collaboration to its tool stack. The new module allows internal and external reviewers to easily view, edit, and redline contracts collaboratively and in real-time.
“The Collaborate module eliminates the typical back-and-forth that comes with contract negotiations, and makes the redline process straightforward and secure,” said Steve Willson, President at Docubee. “Docubee users benefit from the seamless experience with a simplified contract lifecycle that translates to faster close rates.”
Collaborate’s easy-to-use, Word-like interface streamlines internal cross-team collaboration, enabling commenting, editing, and redlining; as well as negotiation with external users who can view and add suggestions in real-time. In addition, Docubee’s product platform provides a secure environment that surpasses commonly used collaboration tools like Google Docs, Word, and other plain document editing tools shared through email.
Key Collaborate features include:
- Word-like interface for easy adoption.
- Real-time editing complete with suggestions, redlining, edits, and comments.
- User permission control complete with view-only, suggest, or edit settings.
- Ability to set customizable, multi-stage processes that are scalable and flexible based on user needs.
- Quick insights into contract status with the ability to see whether participants have viewed, taken action, or signed.
The simplicity of the user interface, which resembles Word, also allows stakeholders to learn and utilize Collaborate with minimal training. Its flexible functionality enhances any contract process, and it easily scales with team or law firm growth.
Collaborate is a part of the Docubee all-in-one contract automation platform which consists of five other key solutions:
- Gather: Collecting information to incorporate into contracts and agreements.
- Generate: Creating contracts swiftly through templates, artificial intelligence (AI), or by creating and editing from scratch.
- Share: Routing contracts seamlessly for editing, review, and approval.
- Sign: Capturing secure, compliant, and legally binding signatures on any device.
- Integrate: Connecting to the systems teams use daily or building Docubee’s tools into native applications using APIs.
For more information about Docubee and its full offering of intelligent contract automation solutions, visit www.docubee.com/products.
About Docubee
Docubee, an Accusoft brand, is an intelligent contract automation platform that lets businesses create, manage, sign, and track digital contracts in one secure platform. Docubee powers contracts by enabling users to gather vital customer data, create contracts using tools like generative AI or pre-built templates, and connect pieces of the process with dynamic workflows. Users can integrate Docubee with their existing site or platform via the API or connect to thousands of apps and CRMs using native and webhook-powered integrations. For more information, visit docubee.com
###
CARET Legal, a leading legal practice management platform for attorneys and legal professionals, released its annual report, Strategic Insights for Law Firm Decision Making, offering vital forecasts and insights to help law firms plan for 2024.
This comprehensive report underscores the pivotal role of technology in reshaping the legal industry and highlights how law firms can harness these advancements to drive growth and navigate the evolving legal landscape confidently.