Remediation
Quality must be maintained when the DOJ hands over a time-sensitive second request that requires collecting, producing, and reviewing large amounts of data. For example, we recently completed a significant second request project for a client that allowed us to save them both valuable time and money. A national law firm engaged us on behalf of a large manufacturer amid a merger with a leading oil and gas services provider. The second request required that a substantial amount of disparate data be collected from both companies to respond to the antitrust subpoena.
Data Discovery was tasked with collecting and preserving the data from 40 custodians in various U.S. and international locations and capturing hundreds of gigabytes of shared folders across multiple networks. We collected the requisite data, including approximately 800GB of Microsoft Outlook PSTs, extracted live user files using forensically sound techniques, and produced all the data within the requested time frame.
Due to the expansive pool of data, post-de-NISTing, the client faced significant budget concerns when factoring the cost of processing, review, and production to the DOJ in concert with established guidelines. To combat these burdensome expenses, we developed a project plan that used significant up-front culling, extraction, and exclusion by extension techniques. This effectively reduced the volume of irrelevant data and saved the client valuable time and money that would have been spent on processing untold gigabytes of data and the resultant review time necessary to establish responsiveness. As a result of this innovation, the client could meet the project deadline and produce the relevant data to the DOJ within established budgets. Many companies are qualified in the basics of forensics collections. Yet, only some have the necessary experience and project management to be as impactful as this real-life case study exhibited.
