CaseCentral Releases v4, Heads for the Cloud

By Marisa Peacock (@marisacp51) Feb 2, 2009

Since its third release in October, CaseCentral has been working hard to implement additional features into its eDiscovery review platform. Today, they announce the fourth version of their first multi-case, multi-party eDiscovery review platform with process analytics.

We had an opportunity to talk with Steven d'Alencon, Chief Marketing Officer of CaseCentral about the release and the future of eDiscovery.

eDiscovery Heads for the Clouds

Perhaps the most innovative feature included in the release is its ability to perform cloud computing, which supports virtual teams involved in the review process. The eDiscovery process often overlaps many in-house and out-of-office departments; reviews can now take place across multiple states, time zones and around the world.

Cloud computing delivers these benefits with centralized data management and enterprise-class security, ultimately reducing the risks by corporations when they transmit proprietary and confidential data outside the firewall to multiple law firms and service providers.

Mr. d'Alencon also explained that the move to cloud computing is not only innovative - in that it's the first eDiscovery company that features it - but that it is cost-effective as well. As the economy worsens, eDiscovery is becoming more important. So much so that it finds itself being discussed at board meetings, so that appropriate funds can be budgeted.

Once considered a novelty, eDiscovery has now become "more mainstream in forward-thinking companies", yet also subject to budgetary concerns, as companies make an effort to cut corners any way they can.

Yet, what really drives the features of the new release is CaseCentral's commitment to lowering risk, as is evident by the other components of version 4.

First Pass and Enhanced Process Analytics

An integrated review platform, also referred to as First Pass Review, allows a data set to be "bulk coded and tagged". Using cluster technology, massive amounts of data can be reviewed and coded in bulk, so attorneys don't spend a lot of time going through materials that may or may not relate to the legal matters at hand.

Now they can automate the process of first pass so that the documents that have been tagged for appropriate content and context can be reviewed. The integrated platform "uses technology to improve the ability to get through a case" says d'Alencon who considers the process just one of the ways in which CaseCentral improves the efficiency of search and discovery within a single platform.

Once the subset is defined, four corners review is performed document-to-document within the same application, eliminating the need to transport the data to a second system for further review and eventual production. Once documents have been designated, reviewers can again take advantage of near-duplication, advanced email threading and faceted classification to speed review and ensure consistent document handling – even comparing related-document tags dynamically to identify documents that may be produced in one version and withheld in another.

Afterwards, enhanced process analytics can measure the status of the review process in real time, lending the "insight and oversight" needed to help companies budget effectively, as well as to better understand the effectiveness of the process (as well as the process itself).

It provides a benchmark, so that each time the platform is used it can be compared to previous reviews so that companies can best optimize and customize. It also can be a useful tool for measuring the output/input of firms hired for the review, while firms themselves can use it to help streamline their efforts and promote marketability.