Litigation Support Frequently
Asked Questions
Why is Computer Based Document Management Important?
COMPLIANCE and VOLUME! Recent legislation such as Sarbanes Oxley and HIPPA have brought document management compliance techniques and practices into the limelight for corporate and transactional lawyers. But for the typical
litigation team, it is the rapidly expanding volume of documents that poses the greatest concern in providing quality litigation services to clients. Here are just some of the issues created by the increased volume in documents:
- Professional Review Time - Computers have made it easier than ever to create documents. The volume of documents being created on a daily basis using word processing, spreadsheets and e-mail is staggering and increasing exponentially each year. Litigation teams need to review their clients' proposed responses to document requests in addition to responses from opposing counsel. Although computer technology has caused this huge increase in document volume, computer technology also holds the promise of helping litigation teams to store, search and categorize documents more efficiently. Law firms using the technology available have a competitive advantage over those law firms not using such techniques. It should also be noted that failure to use available technology could be argued as a failure to exercise ordinary care in providing legal services - an element of a malpractice claim.
- Duplication Costs - The increased volume of documents has made traditional duplication strategies more expensive than ever. In earlier times, a document intensive litigation was one with 15 or 20 boxes of documents. Today, 100 to 200 box cases are typical.
- Storage Costs - Whether in house or at records management centers, the increased volume of documents is making paper document storage impractical for most law offices since space often exceeds $30 per square foot.
- Shipping Costs - At $35 to $40 a box, shipping costs for the average litigation have soared due to increased volume.
- Missing Files - With more documents there becomes more lost (or mis-placed) documents.
- Document Production Logistics - More volume means more cost for the producing party when responding to document production requests.
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What is Document Imaging and Scanning?
Document imaging and / or scanning refers to the process of making a digital photocopy from paper-based documents. The only difference between a traditional paper photocopy and an image is the way it is stored. Images are stored on digital media such as hard drives, CDs, DVD, etc. Photocopies are stored on paper. For litigation support purposes, the terms "imaging" and "scanning" mean the same thing, and these terms can be used interchangeably.
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Why Should I Image My Paper Documents?
- Save Office Space - Hard drive space is cheap but office space is not
- Maintain Integrity of Originals
- Blowbacks retain image quality as compared to copies of copies
- Efficient Sharing of Documents with Co-Counsel and Experts
- Save Copy and Shipping Costs
- Avoid lost Copies
- More Efficient Use of Professional Billable Time
- Deposition Preparation
- Document Productions
- Trial Preparation
While controlling out-of-pocket expenses is an important obligation of any attorney to his or her client, techniques that promote more efficient use of billable time will have the greatest impact on any litigation budget.
Imaging allows you to retrieve documents faster so you can spend more billable time reviewing documents and less time looking for them.
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What is an Image?
An image is an electronic photocopy created by imaging (or scanning)
a paper-based document using a scanner or digital copy / multi-function machine. Images can also be created by printing an electronic document to an image format (such as TIFF or PDF). An image, although commonly referred to as an "electronic photocopy", is not an "electronic document" as the term "electronic document" is used in litigation support and Electronic Data Discovery.
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What is PDF?
The Portable Document Format (PDF) was invented by Adobe. What makes PDF files popular is a PDF file preserves the look of an original electronic document (e.g. Word, WordPerfect, and Excel), and provides a common static format viewable on any computer system (whether Windows or MAC based). By "static" we mean not easily editable (like a word processing file). There are three types of PDF files that are relevant to
litigation support - "image only"; "image with searchable text" and "Pure PDF". As the names imply, an "image only" type of PDF is similar to a TIFF image in that it is not searchable. An "image with searchable text" PDF file combines a TIFF image with the OCR in one file. A "Pure PDF" file type is the result of converting (i.e., printing) an electronic document to PDF rather than printing to paper. A Pure PDF file is searchable and is not subject to the accuracy limitations of OCR technology. Any electronic document you would normally print can be converted into PDF, which then preserves the appearance of the original electronic document. The PDF file can then be viewed by anyone with the Acrobat Reader software. While text in the "image with searchable text" and "Pure PDF" PDF formats can be cut and pasted to Rich Text Format (RTF), a PDF file itself cannot be edited in any practical manner. The e-mailing of PDF files is making FAX machines obsolete. PDF files can be either color or black and white. The Acrobat Reader program is available for free download at Get Adobe Acrobat Reader Now.
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What is TIFF?
TIFF (Tag Image File Format) is a common image format for
litigation support. Tiff Group 4 is generally the file format created by scanning paper documents for litigation support purposes. Tiff Group 4 is an image compression format, which is used to keep file sizes as small as possible.
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Is TIFF "Better" than PDF?
TIFF and PDF are both widely used file formats for litigation support purposes. Whether one is "better" than the other depends on the unique circumstances and goals of the end user. There was a time when Windows did not come with a free TIFF viewer so PDF was popular with users who did not want to pay for software to view image files. Most litigation support service bureaus like Reliable recommend TIFF for use in litigation support software programs. In the recent past, Reliable frequently used PDF files and Excel spreadsheets or Access databases to create litigation support databases for attorneys unwilling to purchase litigation support software. Reliable now offers its clients free software (Storm) on each CD of images it creates. This is particularly useful if the law firm does not have its own litigation support software or the CDs / DVDs are for clients or experts. PDF files are still frequently used for corporate closing binders and estate accounting. Additionally, using TIFF for courtroom presentation generally provides greater flexibility for annotations than using PDF.
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Are Images Admissible in Court?
While any question of evidence admissibility can be complex depending on the facts, as a general rule, an image is no less admissible in court than a paper-based photocopy.
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What is a Blowback?
The term "Blowback" has evolved to mean a printed copy of an image or electronic document. The term was first created to refer to paper prints from microfilm.
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Can Reliable Deliver a Searchable Database of my Documents?
Yes. A free searchable database can be supplied with every CD (Storm). This is very convenient for sharing documents with law firm clients and co-counsel. Another advantage is attorneys can review documents while traveling without needing a licensed copy of the firm's usual litigation support software. Additionally, every CD can be delivered with all of the industry standard litigation support "load files". For example, Summation requires a "Dii" load file which provides the Summation database with the link between the Bates numbers and the location of the TIFF images.
Dii File Example:
; Record 1
@C ENDDOC# LK001756
@T LK001755
@D @I\cd001\001\
000001.tif
This entry from a Dii file indicates the beginning Bates number (@T LK001755),
the ending Bates number (@C ENDDOC# LK001756), and the location of the TIFF
image for this document
@D @I\cd001\001\
000001.tif
IPRO requires an "LFP" file and Opticon requires its own specific load file.
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What is OCR?
OCR or Optical Character Recognition is a process whereby an image file (which is inherently not searchable) is used to create a parallel text file, which is searchable (or editable). The accuracy of the text file resulting from this process is entirely dependent on the quality of the original. Generally, if you can see white space between the letters in the original, the OCR software will be able to discern the letters with a high degree of accuracy. You can expect an average of 95-99% accuracy for good quality originals. A document produced by a laser printer or printing press with standard fonts on white paper is considered a high-quality original. Photocopies, low-resolution print outs, documents with non-standard fonts such as script, and documents with poor contrast due to similar colors of paper and ink, are all considered low-quality for the purposes of OCR and will probably require extensive manual processing to improve accuracy.
OCR costs are approximately $0.05 to $0.07 per page depending on volume and turn-around requirements. The fact that OCR text may not have the formatting qualities of the original image is not significant, because the only purpose of the OCR in a litigation support database is to find the corresponding image.
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What is a Database?
A Database is a collection of records. A record is one complete set of fields. A field is a single piece of information about a document. A telephone book is a database. It contains a list of records, each of which consists of three fields: name, address, and telephone number. Concordance and Summation are databases specifically designed for litigation support.
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What is a Field?
A field is a single piece of information about a document in the database. The following are examples of fields in a typical litigation support database:
- Begin Bates
- End Bates
- Document Date
- Document Type
- Author
- Recipient
- Document Source
- Document Characteristics
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What is Concordance?
Concordance is a database commonly used for litigation support. See
Dataflight Software, Inc. for more information. Reliable is an authorized re-seller of Concordance. We also provide Concordance training and consulting. Concordance is designed to work with its own (Opticon) and third party image viewers (e.g.,
IPRO). Concordance and Summation are the industry leading software products for litigation support databases.
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What is Summation?
Summation is a combination of litigation support database and image viewer software program. See
Summation Web Site
for more information. Reliable is a re-seller, and also provides Summation training. Summation and
Concordance are the industry leading software products for litigation support databases. Summation has its own internal image viewer although it can be used with third party viewers as well.
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What is IPRO?
IPRO is a software product, which is generally used in conjunction with a litigation software database such as Concordance. The primary function of IPRO is viewing images associated with a litigation support database although IPRO also contains some database functionality. See IPRO for more information.
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What is Opticon?
Opticon is an image viewer frequently used with Concordance. Opticon is not a database. The primary function of Opticon is viewing images associated with a litigation support database. It can also be used for annotating images and
blowbacks. See Dataflight Software, Inc.
for more information.
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What is Storm?
Storm is a litigation support database, which Reliable can provide its clients on each CD of images. Storm permits clients to view images, search coding, search
OCR, mark hot docs and privilege documents, blowback images and print reports.
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What is the Difference Between a Database and an Image Viewer?
Although some image viewers have database capabilities (e.g.
IPRO), in general databases hold the information about the images (e.g., coding and
OCR) while image viewers permit the end user to view, annotate, and print images located by database searching. Some litigation support programs have both database and image viewer modules (e.g.,
Summation), while others work in tandem (e.g.,
Concordance and Opticon).
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What is Coding?
Since images are not searchable unless we attach some searchable information, finding relevant documents from an image collection is not much more efficient than looking through boxes of paper. Coding is the process whereby a human looks at an image of a document, and types information in the
fields of the case database. The term “auto-coding” refers to a software process of using
OCR to populate fields in a database. This technology is improving, and is appropriate for certain document collections where time or budget constraints apply.
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What is Objective Coding?
Objective coding, sometimes known as “bibliographic” coding, is the process of manually looking at a document and filling in database fields with searchable and sortable information about the document. Objective coding, unlike subjective coding, does not necessarily require a familiarity with a particular case in order to correctly "code" a document in the case database. Examples of common objective coding fields are:
- Begin Bates
- End Bates
- Author
- Recipient
- CC
- Document Date
- Document Title
- Document Type
- Document Source
- Document Characteristics
- Names Mentioned
- Key Words
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What is Subjective Coding?
Subjective coding requires knowledge about the case and is usually done by paralegals and attorneys. Like objective coding, subjective coding requires manually looking at a document and typing information about the document into the database. Examples of subjective coding include:
- Hot Document
- Issues
- Witnesses
- Privilege
- Relevance
Effective litigation support databases contain both objective and subjective coding.
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What is Document Unitization?
Document unitization is a very important step in the imaging / scanning process. In the typical copy job, the copies are returned with staples and clips as per the original set. If 2 memos were stapled together in the originals, the copies are returned stapled together. If documents are scanned, this practice presents a problem at the coding stage. If two memos with different dates, different authors, and different recipients are scanned together as one imaged document, what goes into the Document Date, Author, and Recipients fields in the database? If only the information from the first document is entered into the database, how will the second memo ever be found?
At Reliable, this issue is discussed in detail at the start of the case and custom unitization rules are developed to best accomplish the budget and timing constraints of the case. Typically, using the above example we capture the attachment ranges of the two memos in the database at the scanning stage, and then separate them out as separate documents for coding purposes. This enables the end-user to re-create original binding element attachment ranges if necessary.
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Should I have my Documents Coded Domestically or Off-shore?
The decision to code in the US or offshore is one that can be dictated by corporate policy, confidentiality concerns, turnaround time needs, and price. Reliable has the ability to code domestically or off-shore. Generally, we recommend using off-shore coding because it is:
- faster; and
- cheaper;
- the quality is very good.
Off-shore coding generally costs about one-half the cost of domestic coding. With a typical box containing 600 documents, the cost savings using off-shore coding is about $750 per box. We do, however, recognize the need to provide domestic coding for certain clients and cases. Regardless of where documents are coded, all coders are subject to master confidentiality agreements and sign case specific confidentiality documents if requested. Whether the coding is done off-shore or domestically, stringent security measures are in place which limit the ability of the coders to mis-appropriate confidential information.
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How Many Pages Fit on One CD?
Approximately 18,000 letter-sized, 300 dpi black and white
TIFF or PDF images will fit on a single CD (6 boxes). Depending on the file format, you can expect approximately 75,000 pages of electronic documents on a single CD (25 boxes). DPI means "dots per inch". Black and white TIFF files are usually scanned at 200 dpi or 300 dpi, with 300 dpi generally being preferred due to better
blowback quality.
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How Much Does Imaging Cost?
Pricing for scanning and coding services is highly variable due to the volume of documents to be scanned, the nature of the original paper documents, and the scope of services requested. However, some rough budget guidelines are:
- Scanning: $0.08 to $0.25 per page
- Objective Coding - bibliographic: $0.75 to $2.50 per document
- Objective Coding - in text: $.15 to .$50 per page
- OCR: $0.05 to $0.07 per page
- Blowbacks: $.08 to $.22 per page
- Electronic Bates Numbering: $.03 per page
- Consulting / Technical : $150 per hour
As a rule of thumb, documents containing numerous staple and clips will run slightly higher in price than documents having less manual handling requirements. Reliable will provide you with a budget up front with no surprises or hidden costs. We recognize that our clients frequently need approval from their clients before incurring significant out-of-pocket costs.
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What is Electronic Data Discovery?
Electronic Data Discovery (EDD) refers to the gathering, reviewing and producing of documents in their native / electronic format. This process is generally done at the same time paper based documents are being gathered, reviewed, and produced. Electronic documents include e-mail, memos, letters, spreadsheets, databases, PowerPoint presentations and other electronic formats commonly found on computer / network hard drives, back-up tapes and off-line storage such as CDs, DVDs, ZIP drives, etc. Example Sources of Electronic Documents. What makes EDD different from paper is primarily volume. When a request for production is submitted to opposing counsel, the producing party may provide both paper in banker's boxes and electronic documents in their native format on hard drives, DVDs and /or CDs. One of the challenges of EDD is "Bates Numbering". Static documents, such as images and paper documents, can be Bates Numbered. Electronic documents, however, are not susceptible to traditional page based Bates Numbering. A frequently recommended technique for managing EDD is to initially load the electronic documents into eDoc Navigator where the litigation team can review, code, and cull the electronic documents prior to conversion to TIFF, Bates Numbering, entry into the case database, and ultimately document production. This is a significant cost saving technique for clients, and enables the litigation support team to provide more efficient legal services. eDoc Navigator also facilitates native file format production and privilege / relevance log creation. Once attorneys become more comfortable with document based Bates Numbering rather than traditional page based Bates Numbering, native file format document productions will be standard practice.
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What is an Electronic Document?
Generally, an electronic document is any document created on a computer, which is still in its original native file format. For litigation support purposes, an electronic document is different from an image. Examples of electronic documents include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, etc. One important distinction between electronic documents and images is images are not searchable while electronic documents are searchable. You can search a Word file for all the places where a particular term appears, such as "employee". You can not search an image for words. Also, by definition, electronic documents contain potentially meaningful "Metadata" while images do not generally contain any meaningful Metadata. Another practical difference between images and electronic documents is the number of pages ("Blowbacks") you get if you print. If you print a CD of images you get around 18,000 pages (6 boxes). If you print a CD of electronic documents, you get around 75,000 pages (25 boxes). Electronic documents also include e-mail in their native format such as PST files (Outlook) and NSF files (Lotus Notes). Due to volume and the fact that electronic documents can not be "Bates Labeled", special litigation support techniques are needed when dealing with electronic documents. See eDoc Navigator Demo for software designed to assist litigation teams in managing electronic documents.
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Why are electronic documents important?
It is estimated that over 70% of all corporate data exists solely in electronic formats. This is due in large part to the growing custom of e-mailing documents as e-mail attachments. Many of these e-mails and attachments are never printed to paper and thus exist solely in electronic form. In order to conduct comprehensive discovery, this information needs to be reviewed. Otherwise, over 70% of all potential evidence may be left un-examined. Reliable can help you to develop an effective and cost efficient plan to deal with both paper based and electronic documents. No two cases are the same and each case demands its own document management approach.
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How Many Pages of Electronic Documents fit on a CD?
While an exact answer depends on the mix of electronic file formats on the CD, an industry average is about 75,000 pages (25 boxes).
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What is Metadata?
Metadata is frequently described as data about data. An image or paper document does not provide you with significant information about its history. The Metadata in an electronic document, however, can provide valuable information about a document's history such as its author, creation date and modification date.
The following are examples of Metadata found in a typical Word document:
- Author's name/initials
- Author's company/organization name
- Server name on which the document is stored
- File properties/summary information
- Non-visible portions of embedded OLE objects
- Previous author's names and initials
- Document version, editing time and revision information
See eDoc Navigator Demo for examples of Metadata available in electronic documents.
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Why do I Need a Service Bureau Like Reliable?
Document management methods and techniques, while based on computers and software, are different from what most law firm technical staff do daily in connection with network and software support. Additionally, document management is generally a billable client cost while law firm network management is typically an overhead expense not billable to a client. At Reliable, we service over 300 law firms and have experience with numerous document management challenges. In addition to having efficient systems for creating litigation support databases from paper or electronic documents, our team includes attorneys and paralegals who can provide valuable insight on optimal document management techniques for a given case.
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Why do I Need Special Software for EDD?
Most firms do not have software designed to index large volumes of electronic documents in multiple native file formats. While many firms have document management software, which effectively does this for documents created by the firm, these products do not practically allow for the creation of separate databases for each litigation. (If you doubt this, just ask your information technology manager to add a few DVDs or back-up tapes of electronic documents to your firm's document management system.)
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Why is eDoc Navigator a Recommended EDD Tool?
eDoc Navigator combines a time-tested search technology with features designed to help litigators deal with the volume of electronic documents that must be reviewed in a litigation. These electronic documents can come from multiple sources including your own client and opposing counsel. Tools like eDoc Navigator make producing (and requesting) electronic documents in native format effective and efficient. eDoc Navigator is entirely web-based, although licensing opportunities exist for large firms that have the capability and desire to manage large SQL databases in-house. One of the basic tenants of eDoc Navigator is that the directory structure people use to store electronic data is significant. eDoc Navigator gives you the ability to browse electronic data in its original directory structure without the need for installing any additional software on your computer or network. This is particularly interesting for e-mail directories. Included in eDoc Navigator are the following features:
- full text searching
- native directory structure browsing
- Metadata searching
- online coding
- document sorting
- privilege and relevance log creation
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What is Computer Forensics?
Computer forensics services are important to:
- Recover deleted e-mails and electronic files.
- Gather evidence of computer usage, including Internet, network access, printing and file copying.
- Collect and cull data from personal computers, floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, or servers.
- Preserve computer data.
Our computer forensic experts can help you trace the trail of information. We can help you recover the "smoking gun" email, deleted documents, and preliminary drafts that may be critical in proving or disproving contract negotiations, fraud, or employment discrimination. We can often authenticate data to prove who knew or had access to what information in what chronological order. We can assist you with preserving the data of potentially key witnesses to demonstrate offers of production are complete and critical files and communications have not been deleted or altered. We can help you develop useful and court-defensible methods to search computer data and reduce the professional time it takes to review and produce large amounts of computer data.
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How Do I Bates Number Electronic Documents?
Control of electronic documents requires a different approach than paper or image based documents. Historically, Bates numbering was used to control paper documents and eventually images. There is no requirement in the rules of civil procedure that requires Bates numbering. It was invented to help litigation teams control the increasing volume of paper. As attorneys and litigation support teams are forced to manage electronic documents in native format, a page level control number system fails for several reasons including:
- Printer Format Issues
- Spoliation
Unlike paper and image based documents, a "page" is not a useful paradigm in the electronic document world. We must focus on the entire file as a cohesive "document". There is no reason that file naming conventions cannot be used in the same way as page level Bates numbering. Instead of showing witnesses and the Court paper based Bates Numbered documents, there is no reason laptops and projectors cannot be used to present documents in native format to witnesses.
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