To continue on from the Best Practices in the Document Review Process – Part I, we outline the methods for executing the work product of the document review by efficiently utilizing document review staff and producing quality results to support discovery.
Retaining experienced and competent staff
Every document review involves the repeated exercise of judgment by individual document reviewers about whether a given document contains information/data that satisfies variations established, defined, and communicated regarding criteria such as relevance, issue responsiveness, privilege, work product, and confidentiality. Moreover, managing attorneys must effectively verify and oversee the decisions being made by document reviewers to ensure accuracy and quality control. Thus, a mandatory document review best practice is having a document review team that contains exceptionally competent quality-managing attorneys and document reviewers who can properly identify what is responsive to various discovery requests, what documents contain attorney-client privileged, work-product or confidential information, etc., using either internal or external legal support.
Training
Training is also an essential document review best practice. The document review team must have dedicated training relevant to the general issues in the case, to the discovery-specific issues presented, and to client preferences and expectations. Training should also be ongoing, should be supplemented with written guidelines and a document review manual, and should be coupled with feedback from in-process oversight and quality-control sampling.
Making “task-specific” assignments to particularly experienced staff
Another document review best practice is assigning specific and dedicated tasks to staff that may have particular or deep experience. This protocol is also very useful if the case contains complex technical or medical issues. Thus, for example, where background and experience are appropriate, time efficiencies can be created and accuracy enhanced by assigning to one or two team members the task of reviewing medical records or patent-related documents. A similar protocol can be used with legally complex matters like the task of locating and “tagging” documents that contain attorney-client privilege or attorney work product.
Engaging in continuous, in-process, and effective quality control
Another crucial document review best practice involves quality control protocols that are continuous, in-process, targeted, and effective. Among other specifics, this involves:
- Supervising individual document reviewers for accuracy
- Ongoing “sampling” of documents processed
- Encouraging questions from document reviewers
- Continuing engagement with relevant records custodians and information technology personnel
- Surveying trends and recurring practical problems like e-format documents failing to open or load
- Addressing questions and correcting issues with respect to how coding is applied
- Identifying and establishing “needs-further-review” procedures
- Engaging the second-level review early in the document review process
- Consulting, as appropriate, with lead litigation attorneys
Issuing the production
Of course, the final step is actually issuing the documents to be produced, accurately labeled to correspond to the document request categories, properly numbered and marked as required along with a privilege log, and in the format designated. Another best practice is to implement streamlining mechanisms that anticipate a potential need for a secondary or supplemental document review/production based on additional discovery requests received.
For more information on document review and other litigation support services, contact Baer Reed, online or call us today at 888-433-1990.
Mr. Reyes graduated with honors from the Ateneo de Manila University, where he received the Procter and Gamble Student Excellence Award. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila School of Law. During law school, Mr. Reyes was part of the Philippine delegation to the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna, Austria. He was also a member of the Ateneo Society of International Law and the St. Thomas More Debate Society. He completed his internship at the Public Attorney’s Office. He wrote a thesis entitled: “To Kill A White Elephant: An Analysis of the Fiduciary Exception to the Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege”. Mr. Reyes is admitted to practice law in the Philippines and the State of New York.
Ms. Lardizabal-Manzano is a graduate of San Sebastian College-Recoletos, where she earned her B.A. in Political Science. In 2003, she received her law degree from Lyceum of the Philippines and was admitted to practice law in 2004.
Matthew Hersh earned a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University in 1990 and graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1999. He also holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Cap. Avi Levak (Res. IDF) graduated from from Israel’s prestigious Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics. He is also a Leadership and Communication coach trained in TuT coaching by Alon gal in Israel. Avi specializes in high-level, in-depth analysis of business and client needs, within systems and software strategy and architecture.
Ms. Tyler graduated cum laude from Georgetown University and received her law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, she interned at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. She also worked on The Tax Lawyer journal and was a member of the award-winning Barristers’ Council Mock Trial Team. Ms. Tyler is admitted to practice law in the State of California and the District of Columbia.
Ms. Cruz-Anonuevo graduated cum laude and top nine in her batch from Miriam College with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in InternationalStudies. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in Rockwell. During law school, she interned in Rivera, Santos, Maranan & Associates. She was also part of Ateneo’s Labor Law Bar Operations. She wrote her thesis on, “Stealing Privacy: Limitations on Media’s Photographic Invasion.,” Ms. Cruz-Anonuevo is admitted to practice law in the Philippines.
Ms. Aquino-Batallones obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Development Studies (with Minors in Global Politics and Hispanic Studies) from the Ateneo de Manila University. In 2011, she received her Juris Doctor degree from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law. During law school, she interned at Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles then became an intern of Ateneo Legal Services Center’s Clinical Legal Education Program.
Mr. De Guzman graduated from San Beda College with a degree of Bachelor of Arts Major in Economics and received his law degree from San Beda College of Law. He is multilingual and is fluent in three languages: Chinese, Filipino, and English. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2003.