The document review process holds immense importance during litigation and is considered to be an expensive and labor-intensive task. It constitutes one of the major stages of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM). The documents concerned with the litigation are assessed carefully for their responsiveness and relevance.
Lawyers must review documents one by one to determine their content and relevance to the case. Adding tags, such as “hot,” “important,” and “negative,” can help lawyers quickly identify the most valuable information for trial.
9 Common Document Review Process Pitfalls:
1. Unplanned Document Review
It is vital to plan a document review since not doing so results in the following mistakes:-
- New document findings needing assessment apart from the originals
- Adopting unprofessional discovery methods leads to high costs
- Missing out on the original documents
2. Doing Everything on Your Own
Today, technology has revolutionized everything, and the legal industry is not lagging behind. A senior attorney might be good at reviewing the documents but may not be good at using the new legal technology comprising of software that makes navigating the information easy.
So, it is recommended to have a team where every member is equipped with the right skills in order to address the different document review tasks.
3. Unavailability of People
An appropriate document review processing requires the active participation of different people and when things are unplanned, people are usually unavailable.
According to a global provider of contract management services, the solution to this type of problem is the use of an electronic system wherein the sign of the original person can be replaced by the alternate signer.
4. Using Obsolete Revision Methods
When the new methods of revision become more productive, one should leave out the obsolete revision methods, as using them often leads to a lot of errors.
Apart from this, extra electronic or paper copies often lead to problematic document access along with the arduous task of finding them.
5. Document Review Neglecting During Cycling
The document review process needs to be followed appropriately in order to make sure the content is accurate and applicable to the objectives of the project. In most cases, the document changes are not reflected in the final outcome since the documentation is not updated. An effective system can help in syncing the documentation process and the actual process and remove the possibility of any error.
6. Unassigned Review Checks
Involving the right people in the change control process ensures well-documented and perfectly executed changes. Not elaborating on specific tasks and timing to participants can lead to attention and communication issues in the document review process.
7. Document Searching
There always comes a time in the litigation process when you need to review the documents for references. Using old methods of storing and finding the documents during reference checks is something that not only delays the process but also brings down its quality.
It is important to move with the latest technological trends and incorporate the use of software for seamless document storing and finding.
8. Obsolete Documents Misuse
Document archives are essential for both legal and historical reasons. They contain valuable information that should be stored securely and efficiently. Failure to properly maintain document archives can lead to misuse of the information, as well as poor-quality reviews due to poor storage and lack of references.
Failure to renew or secure document archives can lead to their misuse, which can result in poor-quality reviews due to poor storage and lack of references.
9. Untimely ECO Release
An ECO release completes the change control process. It contains document sets along with the changes in the document revision and the corrected version of it.
The traditional methods, which include in-depth observation and document controlling, pave the way for high human errors due to the shortage of time. Addressing such ECO releases should involve utilizing the latest document review technology.
Conclusion
Efficient document management is essential for legal professionals. The use of the latest technology can help to streamline the document review process and save time and money.
With so many documents to review in a limited amount of time, outsourcing document review services has proved to be really fruitful to law firms and attorneys across the globe. Outsourcing not only streamlines the document reviewing process but also leads to cost-savings, increased efficiencies along with saving time and effort.
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