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12 November 2009 / Martin Bonney
Issue: 7393 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology
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Straight to the point

Intelligent new technology can streamline the e-disclosure process, says Martin Bonney

As lawyers know, in a typical disclosure exercise less than 20% of the documents reviewed are responsive to the case.

The standard approach has been to apply a few basic search terms and then review everything in a linear fashion, slowly weeding the pertinent material from the largely unresponsive whole.

The enormous growth of electronic business documentation, especially e-mail, has made this approach increasingly untenable, on the basis of cost alone.

Accordingly, the courts have begun to stress the importance of proportionality when it comes to the scope and cost of the disclosure exercise.

For lawyers, this brings its own risks—where should the line be drawn? How can lawyers demonstrate that their approach in limiting a review is defensible and has not unduly disadvantaged the other side?

From evolution...

It is here that technology has an increasingly important role to play. Recent years have seen the introduction of a number of new technologies to deal with the growing volume of documents.

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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