Discovery OnDemand - Oct/Nov '02

Discovery OnDemand

Discovery OnDemand is a standalone hardware and software electronic discovery-processing center. This is one of the first products answering the need for an in-house capability to handle electronic information discovered during litigation. It’s timely; according to some estimates in 1999, 93 percent of all information generated was in digital form and between 30 to 70 percent of information was not printed on paper.

The discovery of electronic information involves the steps of collecting or harvesting (removing the information from the source computer) the electronic information, processing it, reviewing it, using it in preparation for and at depositions, and later, in preparation for trial and presentation.

Discovery OnDemand provides the tools to convert e-mails, e-mail attachments and standalone (non-e-mail) electronic files to a format that is more familiar and useful to litigators. It includes a database record for each document, the full-text of that document, and a TIFF image of what that document looked like if printed at the time it was sent, received or last modified. In other words, the same format lawyers have been using to convert papers for the past 10 or 12 years.

Discovery OnDemand is a system with the capability to convert electronic information into a searchable, image-enabled database. Once the data is gathered, this system will handle the two most common e-mail formats, as well as more than 250 electronic file types. It has all the native application software programs for those 250 file types and two e-mail types built-in; it eliminates the trap commonly encountered by those who try reviewing in native format without conversion, or even those who try to rig a homemade conversion utility, often hitting a roadblock when they find they simply don’t have a particular software application.

Discovery OnDemand opens electronic information in its native applications and can optionally assign Bates numbers to the electronic documents for control purposes. It then converts electronic data into a coded, image-enabled database for importing into a database such as Summation.

It provides cross-reference files and the full text of the electronic data. It’s designed to allow users to convert Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Lotus Notes, spreadsheets, word processing, presentations, compressed documents, Internet and other electronic files into a searchable, image-enabled database.

In addition to converting all common forms of electronic data, Discovery OnDemand captures metadata, maintains file threads and file attachments and eliminates duplicate files.

Specifically for e-mail, the software preserves the e-mail as it looked when it was used as “live” communication. E-mail header information is already “fielded,” ready to add into a database, and file attachments remain linked to e-mail messages. It uses several criteria to determine whether e-mails are duplicates, which are not processed.

It was easy to set up the system right out of the box. The on-screen instructions were easy to follow. It tracks projects, provides an inventory of data that was converted and not converted because of an unfamiliar format. Plus, it allows for viewing of attachments before conversion in order to limit the per-page click charge.

The files I saved were saved in a Bates-numbered, comma-delimited format for importing into a database, and TIFF images were created for viewing and court presentation. I was able to record the converted files onto a CD for storage and transport.

The Daticon Discovery OnDemand system includes a preconfigured desktop computer, flat-screen monitor, CD and CD-Recordable drives, keyboard and mouse.

This type of data conversion center will become commonplace in attorney’s offices as we incorporate the discovery of electronic case information in all of our cases. It provides the necessary technology tools to process and convert the data for review purposes and presentation in the courtroom.

Daticon Inc.
(800) 676-2215
www.daticon.com

Price: $7,000; 9 cents per page “click” fee; $10,000 all-inclusive package with 100,000 clicks.

Reviewed by Michael Arkfeld, an assistant U.S. attorney in Phoenix and the author of “The Digital Practice of Law” (5th Edition).

Oct/Nov '02 Issue

PROS
Easy to use; converts more than 250 file types; creates TIFF images identical to originals for court presentation.

CONS
Larger cases still require outside vendor; currently only supports Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes e-mail formats.

VERDICT
I recommend this product. This is a solid product that provides for the processing of electronic information into an importable database format and electronic images for presentation in legal proceedings.