The K&L Gates LLP e-Discovery Analysis & Technology (e-DAT) Group delivers creative, efficient and cost-effective, records management, e-discovery and litigation readiness solutions. We provide our clients with a unique set of experience, knowledge, advanced technology, tested business processes, and a dedicated team of lawyers and para-professionals.
Broad Range of Legal Services
We provide a wide-range of legal services relating to the management of documents, including:
Records Management
Does your organization have a records retention policy? Is it actually followed? We help clients develop and implement effective retention policies to manage their records. By maintaining a database of the statutory and regulatory records retention requirements in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and under federal law, we help clients answer the important question: How long must records be retained? We counsel clients on risk management, help develop and refine record retention policies, offer training programs in regard to e-mail, document retention and litigation response, suggest automated protections, and advise clients on contracts with record management companies. We also have developed creative pricing solutions for various services to maximize value while minimizing costs.
Litigation Readiness Counseling
We work with clients to develop response plans for litigation, government or regulatory investigations that are tailored to the companies business, records and litigation profile. These plans focus on four key areas: retention, collection, review, and production. As a starting point, it is critical to first understand how an organization’s IT systems work, where electronic documents are stored, and where paper documents are located. Using different tools, we work with clients and their staff to identify the information needed to strategically plan discovery responses and to participate in the early discussion of e-discovery issues required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
We work with our clients to draft and track legal hold notices, craft requests and objections, identify custodians and document locations, develop a defensible collection plan that is tracked and documented, develop a plan for the review, protection and production of documents, assist with offensive discovery, and advise on motion practice. We bring all of our experience, knowledge and business practices to bear on each matter, looking for the best overall solution in each unique situation.
Electronic Discovery
Discovery of electronic records has become a central concern in litigation and government and regulatory investigations. In some cases, settlement strategy, and even trial outcomes, hinge on the burden, costs, and potential pitfalls surrounding e-discovery.
Over the years, we have been engaged in managing a wide range of commercial litigation, antitrust, class action, and other complex litigation matters, as well as complex governmental or regulatory investigations. While these services have been used successfully in some of the country’s largest, most document-intensive cases, they are equally suitable for nearly any size or type of matter. We work with our client to develop a reasonable, responsible, and defensible plan for responding to the discovery needs of your matter, with full knowledge of the projected cost of the project before review begins.
At the onset of a matter, we use a unique combination of cutting-edge technology, specially trained review attorneys, and proven business processes to review and produce electronic and hard copy documents, often in a fraction of the time and at a substantially lower cost than traditional review methods.
Leveraging the Power of Technology
Our review attorneys use Attenex PatternsTM, a record mapping technology developed by Attenex Corporation, a company originally formed by Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, to help them efficiently and effectively review massive amounts of electronic records. Attenex PatternsTM reduces the volume of records to be reviewed, identifies the relevant concepts contained in a particular dataset, and presents them graphically to the reviewer in a way that expedites review without compromising quality. Records are reviewed in their native format, eliminating the costly initial step of converting them to static images. In the past two years, our review teams have processed more than 6,600 gigabytes of electronic records, which is the approximate equivalent of 333,000,000 pages or about 150,000 boxes of paper documents.
Service – Without Surprises
We pride ourselves on our ability to provide efficient, cost-effective, and predictable service to our clients in an area of the law not traditionally known for its cost predictability. Whether large or small, our document review projects begin with the delivery of a detailed cost estimate. These estimates serve as both a benchmark and communication tool throughout our engagements to make strategic decisions about the scope and specifics of the review process and to avoid surprises.
Multitude of Applications
Our capabilities are used in a wide range of litigation, investigation, compliance and business matters. These include:
- Full Review of electronic and hard copy documents for responsiveness and privilege in response to litigation or governmental inquiry
- Snapshot Review of electronic documents for pre-litigation assessments and internal investigations
- Privilege Review including production of detailed privilege log
- Hart-Scott-Rodino Review for 4(c) filing and second requests
- Due Diligence Review of email and other internal documents in connection with a business transaction
- Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Review of email and other internal documents
- Document Retention Advice including policy development and review, and discovery strategy
Thought Leadership
We have been involved with document review and records management in complex litigation for decades. Our attorneys are involved at the forefront of document retention and electronic discovery policy through Lawyers for Civil Justice, The Sedona Conference, and participating in the process of updating the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to address the discovery of electronically stored information. Our attorneys frequently speak on records management and e-discovery topics at national and international conferences and legal profession events, bringing their collective experience and knowledge to bear on every client matter.
Knowledge Management
To ensure every K&L Gates client receives the same high level of service and timely advice, we have developed and maintain an e-discovery database on our intranet. This site, which is open to all attorneys across the firm, includes:
- A substantial library of model litigation pleadings, documents and communications, capable of being automatically updated to reflect changing new technologies, procedures and relevant case law;
- recognized practices in records retention and management, drawn from national conferences, published papers and our own direct experience in advising clients;
- active links to internet-based resources, including judicial rules and procedures, and searchable case law; and
- a guide to services offered by a variety of e-discovery vendors that complement our practice whom we have pre-screened for quality and, in many cases, offer preferred pricing to clients of K&L Gates.
Our Team
Our team is comprised of partners, staff attorneys, document review attorneys, litigation support managers, paralegals, clerks and coders. Led by partners who are experienced trial attorneys, we have been at the forefront of e-discovery and automated records management for decades, counseling clients nationally and internationally on these issues. When legal review of documents is required, we rely on our specially trained review attorneys – employees of the firm who are hired specifically for this work. Many of these professionals have made document review their careers, and have worked with us for years. This depth of experience allows us to expand and contract quickly – growing to more than 200 review attorneys – and to reduce our team size as the needs of our clients and cases require.
We work closely with lawyers in practice areas across the firm, from traditional litigation to due diligence in corporate transactions. But our work doesn’t end there. We also regularly serve as Special Counsel for discovery related issues for our clients involved in litigation, governmental, or regulatory matters even where our firm is not counsel of record in the matter. We learn the intricacies of our clients’ business as well as their documents, applying that knowledge to each new matter while working closely with inside and outside trial counsel.