Discovery and Litigation: Truth, Justice and the American Way

What Superman wanted most in the world was to protect the noble ideal of Truth, Justice, and the American way.  This belief system sometimes feels rather outdated with the era of insider trading, large scale bailouts and huge litigation cases which often run into the hundreds of thousand or even millions of dollars.

At a recent legal professional conference held in Chicago, I attended a session where Judge David Waxse, US District Court, Kansas City, Kansas spoke about some of the expectations outlined in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  Rule 1 dictates a “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding” which is the role of court system to protect and uphold. And he discussed new legislation is being written to help ensure that these safeguards are protected. He also stressed the importance of getting agreement from both parties as to the discovery approach at the pre-trial conference to avoid any major pitfalls later on in the case. Formalizing these agreements on all aspects of the discovery early in the process can result in better outcomes while saving time and money.

When I think about information management best practices and the role that companies such as Iron Mountain play, it strikes me that good information management is really critical to support system fairness.  If either party is unable to produce information needed to support a case in reasonable time for a reasonable cost, the justice system starts to break down.  As a non-biased third-party, we help companies make discovery a defensible business process—and apply best practices and principles to help manage costs.

So as you look to trim outside counsel fees, when it comes to responding to a litigation request, doesn’t it make sense to work with a company which manages information for 97% of the Fortune 1000 and can provide complete discovery services?

With Iron Mountain, you know where your information is at any point in the discovery process.  You’ll have full accountability from identification, culling, imaging, coding, redacting, Bates Stamping and delivering a load file to your review platform. Your information will be managed with industry leading best practices for retention and security.  Without the last minute rush, critical process hand- offs, added transportation cost and risks, you’ll streamline your process, meet your time lines and manage to your budget.  In short, you‘ll make discovery a repeatable business process and better control your discovery.

As validation, an April 2012 article from Inside Counsel by Ashley Post talks to ways of reducing spending which include:

1. Analyze workflows-reducing costs for costs cutting sake is not sustainable but you need to look at your processes and those of your business partners.
2. Evaluate law firms – many companies are looking are looking at new fee arrangements, cost per case and bringing more discovery in-house and using other types of service providers to cut costs. Experts say most companies in the Fortune 1000 spend 60 percent of their total legal spending on outside counsel.
3. Prevent Extra E-Discovery Expenses- In-house lawyers hate astronomical discovery costs. A recent FTI Consulting survey reveals that 94 percent of them find the cost of e-discovery “frustrating.”

So while Superman was able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, it may likely require more diligence and creative ways to address discovery process to help ensure fairness on both sides and to arrive at a just outcome for all.

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