The Challenge

Confronted with the need to proceed to trial for a client at an accelerated pace, lead counsel Bartlit Beck faced an e-discovery emergency: multiple e-discovery review projects and productions from millions of pages of multilingual data in less than 60 days.

FTI provided the answer—utilizing the Attenex Patterns document tagging system to develop the necessary components of a privilege log before documents were migrated to Ringtail to compile the privilege log. With Ringtail and Attenex Patterns E-Discovery Software, Bartlit Beck completed five productions on time with a savings of $100,000.

The Problem

A plaintiff faced two concurrent, inter-related litigations involving breach of contract and patent litigation in both the Pennsylvania State and Federal court systems. With the realization that a trial in the Federal Court could occur imminently, it became beneficial to proceed to trial at an accelerated pace.

Legal counsel needed to ensure that the trial date was not missed while rapidly conducting electronic discovery of more than 300,000 documents residing in disparate information repositories. This included documents in multiple languages, 6,000 of which were written in German.

Success was predicated on effective communication and coordination, tight project management and close teamwork between the teams of lawyers preparing for trial and the IT staff charged with locating the valuable information. A comprehensive, efficient and easy-to-search review and production process was required to remove the potential for complaints, and hence delays, from opposing counsel. At the same time, legal counsel needed to protect sensitive client information from disclosure, despite the pressures of a large document set and short timeframes for processing.

The Solution

Bartlit Beck knew that meeting the aggressive deadlines with such a large data set required additional tools outside of the existing e-discovery system already in place. Together with co-counsel Duane Morris LLP, the firms chose FTI and the combination of Ringtail and Attenex Patterns for reviewing, tagging and tracking documents through to production. This translated into dramatic time and efficiency savings that enabled the law firms to:

  • Exchange legacy and Ringtail e-discovery documents quickly for a more rapid production cycle.
  • Within Attenex Patterns, create an intuitive tagging system that created consistency, reduced error and decreased the likelihood of incomplete privilege logging.
  • Eliminate the creation of lengthy manual descriptions for privileged data by allowing counsel to tag ready-made descriptions, enabling attorneys instead to focus valuable time on trial preparation.
  • Establish a production log in a easy-to-maintain spreadsheet for simple review and trouble-free editing.
  • Export production data into flexible TIFF formats for simple search and navigation during opposing counsel’s review. This eliminated delays experienced by an inability to locate critical information.
  • Manage an integrated workflow process that enabled project managers to dynamically reallocate assignments and balance workloads to ensure that deadlines were met.
  • Ensure the integrity of privileged information from accidental exposure to opposing counsel.

With responsibility for privilege reviews within the Ringtail repository, Duane Morris came to appreciate the full functionality that the product offered to examine documents. This included batch assignments, redaction, and privilege log creation. The firm saw the privileged review through to several different productions, all executed out of Ringtail.

The Results

Though typical productions of this nature take months, Ringtail completed the necessary productions in half the time. With efficiencies gained, Bartlit Beck was able to do more—completing five productions in six weeks at a cost savings of nearly $100,000. Integrated with Attenex Patterns, the Ringtail system also facilitated a quick and easy privilege review process that helped the firm meet court-mandated deadlines with ease.

A strong level of collaboration and communication between the Ringtail team and legal counsel was critical to generate the level of process efficiencies required to complete productions on time and under budget. Working in partnership, Ringtail offered 24x7 availability to a diverse group of highly experienced professionals who quickly anticipated and eliminated challenges. This was predicated on the in depth knowledge of the Attenex Patterns e-discovery software and an innate understanding of the needs of senior trial lawyers that helped shape key processes. The Ringtail team also produced daily project reports and updates of hard numbers that instilled confidence in the process and ensured adherence to deadlines.

A commitment to project excellence and client satisfaction was a key driver in the success of the assignment — and the reason that hundreds of law firms rely on Ringtail and Attenex Patterns every day to help solve their most challenging e-discovery and production needs.

About Bartlit Beck

Bartlit Beck was established in 1993 and represents some of the most successful companies in the world in a wide range of legal disputes involving many different businesses and products—from antitrust to patent infringement and fraud, from semiconductors to polymers and jet engines.