In response to increasing litigation levels, as well as recent changes in the rules of court for litigation discovery, many organizations need to enhance their litigation readiness with updated procedures and tools. Contoural can assist Legal and IT teams with a review and update of current legal hold and litigation discovery procedures for Electronically Stored Information (ESI) and paper documents, and recommend action plans aimed at reducing litigation risks and discovery costs. Services also include ESI Map development, and training of employees who may be called to testify regarding the company's ESI.

Legal Hold Assessment and Process Development – Review current legal hold procedures for electronically stored information (ESI) and paper documents. Prepare a Legal Hold Readiness Report that compares current litigation hold procedures with industry best practices, and recommends action plans aimed at reducing risks and costs. Such action plans generally include manual processes and implementation of appropriate technology capabilities. Services typically include development of enhanced legal hold procedures for review with in-house Legal and IT groups, and outside counsel as appropriate.

Litigation Discovery Assessment and Process Development – Review current litigation discovery procedures for electronically stored information (ESI) and paper documents. Prepare a Litigation Discovery Readiness Report that identifies opportunities and recommends action plans - including procedural and technical solutions - aimed at reducing risks and lowering overall discovery costs. Services typically include development of enhanced litigation discovery procedures for review with in-house Legal and IT groups, outside counsel and management as appropriate.

ESI Map Design – In the US, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) now address discovery of electronically stored information (ESI), and require organizations to know what they have, where it is kept, and how accessible it is. To enhance litigation readiness, you may need to prepare a map of your ESI repositories. However, ESI Map requirements vary by company size, industry and litigation profile. This service will help your organization flush out the requirements for the appropriate level of ESI map for your enterprise. This will include the type of map - static, hybrid, or dynamic - as well as the scope and depth of the map, and specific data points to be collected and maintained.

ESI Map Process Creation – An ESI Map is only valuable if it is updated over time to maintain an accurate representation of your current electronically stored information. This service will assist you in creating a set of processes than can be utilized to keep your ESI Map relevant.

ESI Map Implementation and Population – For those enterprises with a large or complex data environment, completing an ESI inventory, or creating a real-time set of feeds for an ongoing inventory is a challenging project. Contoural's expertise will reduce your risk and time to completion.

Litigation Readiness Training – Work with Legal and IT staffs to identify suitable candidates for the role of a FRCP Rule 30(b)(6) witness who can testify on matters related to data being requested for discovery — IT infrastructure, retention policies, accessibility, location, etc. In conjunction with an ESI Map development project, this service typically develops training materials on the use of the ESI Map in deposition, meet-and-confer, and courtroom proceedings. Often includes delivery of a half-day training seminar to participants.