Cost Analysis

According to the Socha 2007 Survey, attorney document review time, document coding/scanning, along with electronic data collection and processing totaled 47% of all costs related to a litigation matter. 

With almost half of the litigation costs at stake, corporate clients and their counsel must keep a vigilante eye on cost control.  While E-Discovery processing itself has proven to save money in the long run, the mis-management of the E-Discovery workflow will not only affect the value and quality of the evidence gathered, but will also raise cost dramatically.

APLCS can provide a cost projection summary so that you will not be caught off-guard.  In addition, we can do a detailed analysis of your E-Discovery Vendors’ bills and processes to ensure that costs are contained and funds are being used most efficiently.

Cost Analysis

Cost Analysis begins with the understanding of the various categories of charges which will be made during the entire E-Discovery process.  While no two cases are the same, below are some of the general categories that the analysis of ESI may incurr (these various costs may be categorized under differing names between service providers, but we can be sure that they are built into the overall cost in one form or another)

Forensic Collection:  Generally done by a collection expert, and charged on a per hour basis with a pass through charge of travel expenses.

Filtering:  This is the processing of culling down the collected information via keyword or date searches.  Charges are generally billed on a per custodian or per key word/date search basis.  This filtering cost can occur during or after the collection phase.

Conversion:  After filtering, remaining documents are often converted into TIFF or PDF formats for reviews  This process is generally charged on a per page basis.

Hosting:  Often in large cases, especially where there are multiple parties or law firms involved, the data to be reviewed can be hosted on the internet by the processing vendor.  This is generally charged on a monthly basis (most vendors have been known to  waive this fee for a specified duration.

Production:  Generating documents (images and data files) for production will generally incur a per page charge (this may include the creation of inital production master media such as CDs or DVDs).

Bates & Confidentiality Scheme:  Along with the production of documents the need to bates stamp or add confidentiality schemes to the production will generally add another penny or so to the per page production cost.

Consulting:  No two cases are the same, and almost every case will require a certain amount of speical analysis/work of the data involved.  These various tasks that delinate from the norm are generally charged on an hourly basis as it will likely involve manual work performed by someone on the Service Provider’s Team.  Some of these special needs may include:  Password breaking, manipulation of data formats, custom reporting/tracking, custom software feature requests, etc.

Pass-through:  Along with the charges above, clients should also be aware that there will likely be pass-through charges associated with the project.  These may include:  Shipping, Direct Media Costs (CDs, DVDs, Hard Drives), or Travel and Meal Costs.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you.