Think of the digital footprint you leave behind every single day of your life. In just a few hours, you can send emails, texts, voicemails, videos, and photos to anyone across the globe! With this in mind, the move to analytics tools for eDiscovery is a no-brainer. Instead of sifting through every piece of information to manually find trends in data, there are analytics that identify areas of concern.

The Reason for Analytics

Nearly 70 percent of costs associated with eDiscovery are connected to direct document review. In fact, the average total cost for one gigabyte of direct document review is $18,000. Instead of going through every piece of data and looking for patterns, let the computer system work for you.

Early Case Assessment (ECA) tools, when used properly can save a considerable amount of time, money, and effort. Here are several tips for making your eDiscovery systems work for you:

Tip #1: Use Email Threading on Every Case

One efficient way to remove a major backup of data is through the use of email threading on every case. Email threading eliminates personal newsletters and mass emails from the group, while also removing redundancies whenever a team member selects “reply all.” Consider, 1 in 3 office workers reply to all when an email only needs to go to one person.

Tip #2: Get a Broad Overview via Analytics

Analytics are all about finding a broad set of facts based on the data you have available. eDiscovery is about using a strong keyword list to build a set of important topics. Using keyword expansion, you can sort and group millions of documents efficiently —an approach so effective that 96% of professionals state it works for them. Keywords, key players in the case, and ID documents are all part of using your ECAs.

Tip #3: Customize Your Approach with Algorithms

A final way to customize your approach is via the use of algorithms. Once you’ve attained a broad overview via analytics, it becomes possible to draw insights. This includes everything from concept searching to communication analysis.

Ninety-six percent of litigators who work with the eDiscovery industry report that time and date stamping within the metadata is the most vital information for their cases. Algorithms make it easy to draw insights that would take considerable manpower otherwise.

Tip #4: Adapt Your Strategy

Through a bit of trial and error, you can learn to adapt your strategy for analytics. Because the field relies on mix and match analytics tools, and every case is different, adapting your strategy does matter. The basics of adapting are:

• Practice working with the program
• Start with a strategy in mind
• Set your goals and stay aligned with them
• Adapt and refine your goals

Tip #5: Show Off the Results

Most Fortune 1000 companies spend $5-10 million on eDiscovery annually. Some companies report spending upward of $30 million on an annual basis. Give proof that eDiscovery works. Talking through the risks of not using analytics and giving real world examples of your successes builds confidence in the process.

Finding Potential Connections to Litigation

eDiscovery makes all of the difference in finding every potential connection to litigation without a manual search. The top ways you can make use of your ECAs are through email threading on every case, analytics overviews, a customized approach, an evolving strategy, and showcasing your results. Make the move to analytics tools for eDiscovery.