The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), the de-facto model for eDiscovery workflow, starts with Information Governance on the far left side, and that is precisely where Verity Group’s eDiscovery and consulting services start as well.
Information Governance involves all things related to data management, retention and destruction, Legal Hold policies, and Early Case Assessment (ECA).
Information Governance
When litigation arises, quick and efficient identification and access to an organization’s electronically stored information (ESI) is vital to understand the scope of liability and formulate a legal strategy. Verity Group’s highly experienced project management team and IT experts help law firms and legal departments understand what information an organization possesses, and its location and accessibility within the network. Since managed review is arguably the most expensive part of litigation, the less time needed to find, preserve, collect and analyze relevant information means less overall cost.
Verity Group also offers guidance to assure compliance with all laws and regulations. We work closely with your team to consult on best practices and defensibility on a variety of issues including retention and deletion policies, and legal holds.
Legal Holds
As soon as an organization is sued or reasonably anticipates being sued, it is important to immediately circulate to the necessary personnel a memorandum outlining their legal obligation to preserve certain documentation and records. The legal hold should outline the steps necessary to reasonably identify and preserve the data and that the custodian should acknowledge the receipt of the memorandum. Verity Group consults with clients on Legal Hold best practices and can deploy several software tools to help organizations effectively and efficiently manage legal holds as well as collection and processing of data.
Early Case Assessment
Identifying key data early can answer key questions quickly: your client’s overall liability and possible defenses, potential cost to identify, collect, review and produce relevant documents, among others. The answers to such questions are critical in determining whether to defend the case or seek an early settlement.
Contact us to discuss how Verity can consult with your legal team on best practices of ECA and obtain the data you need to create the best legal strategy to protect your client’s interests.