Legal departments can – and probably should — implement new technology to increase the value they provide to their organizations. But with so many systems flooding the marketplace, selecting the right one can be tough. Many solutions appear to provide similar capabilities, but of course there are differences.

Traditionally, lawyers have used a variety of point solutions: one system for spend management, another for matter management, a third for e discovery, etc. This breeds great inefficiency for both users of these systems and those supporting them.

An organization looking to embrace newer technology for productivity and cost benefits should consider implementing a platform.

Platforms allow legal departments to choose the best point applications for specific needs, then consolidate and integrate them. Platforms enable a single point of access for tasks, such as reporting, across all systems.

Some organizations have approached Datacert seeking a point solution, such as our matter management application. We help prospective clients identify their long-term strategies, and many realize it’s smarter to go with matter management applications built on a platform.

It’s true. Using a comprehensive solution like PassportTM, our patent-pending platform for consolidating and integrating legal applications, is a better approach.

Many vendors claim they offer a platform simply because all of their point applications are built on a common architecture, even though the architecture doesn’t allow for the consolidation and integration of other vendors’ solutions. It doesn’t allow clients to have an integrated ecosystem composed of the systems that best meet their needs.

Keep this in mind when reviewing new systems. And don’t forget to consider factors such as client-side configurability and integration capabilities, which impact the total cost of ownership.

When choosing a system, determine whether it provides tools that allow you to evolve it internally to meet changing needs. A true platform will offer a complete set of tools for configuring existing applications and building, deploying and integrating new ones, without returning to the vendor or hiring external resources.

One toolkit that Passport offers, for example, is an “Integration Toolkit.” It allows clients to build and maintain integrations between Passport and other systems without “rehiring” Datacert. With a true platform, the total cost of ownership should decrease over time because of the maintenance savings from these sorts of tools.

As the legal industry evolves, so should its supporting technology. Providing on-going value depends on the ability to implement processes that increase efficiency and reduce costs. This can be achieved by leveraging the right technology. So when considering new technology, make sure it can support long-term needs. This is the critical component for future success.

Datacert is a proud sponsor of the 2011 Legal Technology Leadership Summit. Thought leaders and decision-makers will be attending the summit in September to learn about and discuss the ever-changing impact of technology on the legal world.

For more information about working with Datacert, contact Toni Harrison at 832-369-6170 or go to www.datacert.com.

According to industry researchers, the e-discovery market was worth more than $4 billion in 2010 and is growing at more than 25 percent annually. As the already sizable industry continues growing, attorneys have an equally big need for full service e-discovery and document review providers.

That’s why Ernst & Young’s Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services practice has combined with Cataphora Legal. Critical elements of Cataphora Legal’s technology and methodology are now synced up with Ernst & Young’s approach to providing information services.

Cataphora Legal’s patented technology and proprietary methodology increase the effectiveness of document review and reduce its costs. By customizing review decisions so they respond to relevant documents and filter out false positives, lawyers can create rules that consistently categorize documents. The results are tested and improved through statistical sampling techniques.

Ernst & Young’s review platform combines analytics, data visualization and reporting tools with solid processes and a staff of consummate professionals. Now, Cataphora Legal fits seamlessly into the analytics portion of Ernst & Young’s end-to-end discovery services.

As evidenced by its work with Cataphora Legal, Ernst & Young believes in the usefulness of technology. In fact, the company is a proud sponsor of the 2011 Legal Technology Leadership Summit. Thought leaders and decision-makers will be attending the summit in September to learn about and discuss the ever-changing impact of technology on the legal world.

“Ernst & Young is excited to participate in this prestigious event,” said Daniel Torpey, Forensic Technology and Discovery Services leader. “We are looking forward to sharing our insights and learning from other leaders in this subject area at the summit.”

For more information about working with Ernst & Young, contact Dan Torpey at daniel.torpey@ey.com or go to http://www.ey.com/us/fids.

For many corporations and law firms, the legal review process is broken. Many organizations are stuck with a piecemeal approach. They use multiple vendors and service providers with grand hopes of reducing costs. But the strategy increases risk and induces skull-grinding project management headaches. Even worse, it reduces accountability, collaboration and cost predictability.

There is a smarter way, and it doesn’t even involve ibuprofen. Enter “Integrated Document Review,” a relatively new concept within the e discovery and document review industries. It is designed to align incentives correctly, to maximize the value of outside counsel’s work, and to create systemic efficiencies that overcome the limitations of piecemeal approaches, where costs are shifted but not reduced.

The essential element of a successful all-in-one review offering is the level of integration. Under the ideal approach, the integration of review services and technology should have three dimensions: First, integrate two or more vendors into one accountable provider. Second, integrate outside counsel’s role and guidance into your overall review process. And third, integrate review technology with your review processes and methodologies.

Acuity is the all-in-one legal review offering that streamlines e-discovery for both corporations and law firms. E-discovery experts Sophie Ross and Manfred Gabriel of FTI Consulting outlined the key components of Acuity, including a collaborative workflow and predictable pricing model, in this webinar.

“Acuity has attracted corporations and law firms, many of them for repeat business, because of its value proposition: predictable pricing and defensible, integrated legal review from one reliable partner,” said Manfred Gabriel, managing director of FTI Technology.

In addition, Manfred Gabriel authored “The End of Piecemealing – Improving Upon All-in-One Document Review Offerings,” a white paper to help counsel develop a better integrated document review plan.

FTI is a proud sponsor of the 2011 Legal Technology Leadership Summit. Thought leaders and decision makers will be attending the summit in September to learn about and discuss the ever changing impact of technology on the legal world.

“We are pleased to participate in the 11th Annual Legal Technology Leadership Summit,” said Gabriel. “This is an ideal forum for discussing the key methods helping Fortune 1000 and AMLAW 200 firms gain greater control and budget predictability over e-discovery.”

When you buy any product, there’s one thing that matters most: your needs. And any business that wants to succeed must keep their clients’ needs front and center.

That axiom is true in the e-discovery world, just like anywhere else.

With the recent release of Exego version 2.0, Planet Data’s flagship Early Cost Assessment platform, the veteran e-discovery provider has truly taken its clients’ needs to heart.

When developing the updated e-discovery solution, Planet Data asked its customers, “What do you want us to do for you?” The company incorporated those requests into Exego 2.0.

Performance and usability enhancements make the new Exego faster and easier to use than the first version. It offers in depth reporting and project management functions so clients can deal with large amounts of ESI data more efficiently. New features include, to name a few, Concept Searching and Hot Document searching.

Exego’s methodology reduces the amount of data processed and reviewed in litigation, and it reduces overall e-discovery time and costs.

In short, this platform really is intelligent.

Let’s say you have a case trying to determine, I don’t know, whether Led Zeppelin might have stolen other people’s songs. Exego could search a record label’s files for anything conceptually related to Jimmy Page, “Stairway to Heaven” and bustling hedgerows, even if relevant documents don’t say the exact words.

“Our goal since launching Exego has been to continue to improve its features and capabilities to outpace the rapidly evolving e-discovery landscape,” said Zoltan Horvath, Planet Data’s president. “We are excited to introduce an updated version that offers enhanced usability, faster results and a broader range of functions, while maintaining the quality and defensibility for which our Exego solution is known.”

Planet Data is a proud sponsor of the 2011 Legal Technology Leadership Summit. Thought leaders and decision makers will be attending the summit in September to learn about and discuss the ever-changing impact of technology on the legal world.

“The Summit has an impressive lineup of speakers and participants who will offer fresh thinking on e-discovery trends and best practices,” said Planet Data CEO Howard Reissner. “We are excited and honored to participate in this prestigious event and look forward to hearing new perspectives and insights from some of the top minds on the subject.”

For more information about working with Planet Data, contact Laura Marques at LMarques@PlanetDS.com or go to www.planetds.com.