National and Industry Peer Group eDiscovery Benchmarks Released by Advanced Discovery

Global News

26
Jul
2017

Editor

Advanced Discovery, a global eDiscovery and risk management company, announced today the release of the first national and peer group eDiscovery benchmarking metrics.

The benchmarks are derived from Advanced Discovery’s anonymised and aggregated database of thousands of legal matters over the past three years, normalised on key drivers of eDiscovery cost and time management, including: 

• Processing Expansion Factors: Expected number of files and data volumes post-ingestion, processing and extraction of full native files.
• ECA & Analytics Reduction Percentages: Expected reduction of nonrelevant files and data via techniques including near duplicate detection, email threading, custodian identification – and other ECA and analytic tools.
• Document Review Percentages: Expected population of files to be reviewed by legal resources – a primary factor in eDiscovery timelines and costs.

The benchmarks are a transparent “living library” of statistically significant metrics that provide corporations and law firms with objective comparisons of their eDiscovery outcomes to national averages and relevant vertical industry peer groups. Advanced Discovery is making these indices available for free and unrestricted use. The first set of interactive benchmarks can be found on the company's website.

Highlights include:

• On average, every compressed file expands 7.6x after uploading and processing to full native files; industry-specific benchmarks range from 5.3x for biotechnology to more than 300x for insurance-related matters.
• On average, ECA and analytic tools reduce files for document review by 90 percent; industry-specific benchmarks range from a 96 percent reduction in health care to an 81 percent reduction for energy-related matters.

“Our scale and scope mean we have the capability – and the responsibility – to bring objective and defensible performance comparisons, like our eDiscovery benchmarks, to our clients and the broader market,” says Jim Burke, CEO, Advanced Discovery. “Data-driven insight to drive quality outcomes, better manage costs and improve workflow efficiencies are no longer an option for eDiscovery; they are a requirement.”