One of the primary concerns in managing complex litigation is cost. Companies can find themselves hit with hundreds or thousands of pending cases, turning their world upside down, as they struggle to keep up with the influx of data, documents and court deadlines.
Counsel and case teams burn the midnight oil scouring through documents, building their case. These teams know they need to focus on strategy, but instead are inundated with documents and ensuring they do not miss a court deadline.
If you find yourself losing sleep, waking up in a cold sweat in anticipation of the day ahead of you or a task you fear you will not have time to complete, it is time to do things differently. It is time to tame the chaos.
Managing Complex Litigation
The only way to successfully manage complex litigation and ensure accurate data is at counsel’s fingertips is to have a Litigation Management system that can help drive the process, manage the workflows and do things smarter, faster, better. At TCDI, we have come to understand the importance of configuring and setting up a system that works with and for each specific litigation management project.
By taking an innovative approach to the management of data, documents and workflows throughout the entire litigation lifecycle, you can see smarter, faster and better results. Creative process engineering and innovation ensures a commitment to increased efficiencies through automation of tasks and workflows. Your Litigation Management System solution should empower cross-functional litigation teams to streamline communication, eliminate redundant work product, reduce costs and optimize case strategies.
Implementing a Litigation Management System
At the center of every customized solution that we design are four key elements, which are critical to the success of each project:
- Data
- Processes
- Tools
- People
Understanding, designing and implementing processes, and services that address these four areas are important to the effectiveness of your Litigation Management system.
We start by white-boarding or listing out all of the pieces of data. Next, we determine:
- Where does the data live?
- How do you want to use it?
- What should be measured?
- What needs to be reportable or visually represented?
Next, we list out the processes you currently undergo to complete tasks or actionable items.
- Document the specific manual steps you complete
- Determine who performs those tasks
- What tools do you currently use?
- Are any existing workflows or non-existing workflows needed and typical?
- What are the desired timelines for each task and workflow?
Once you have that information identified, the fun part begins! Now, you can define, outline, organize, customize and build automated workflows and processes so you can accomplish the tasks that are repeatable, measurable, and predictable.
12 Recommendations for Building a Customized System
Here is an example list of what we recommend building into your customized Litigation Management system:
- Integrated automated workflows, designed for executing repeatable tasks
- Onyx software for quick and efficient processing, de-duplication, and document availability post submission
- Built-in feature for detecting near-duplication of data
- Suite of analytics and data analysis tools to drive smart, informed decisions
- Automatic calculations for scheduling deadlines based on jurisdiction
- Intelligent templates guiding Reviewers and Coders in the coding process, auto-populating based on established rules
- Deployment of the MSMR (Military Spouse Managed Review) Program for Review / Coding that cannot be automated, ensuring standardized, consistent and accurate bibliographic coding
- Production Tool wizard, equipped with default templates, catering to varying production needs
- Highly scalable solution with automatic growth capacity to meet changing storage and processing needs
- Features for Automated/Scheduled Reporting, Custom Reporting, and visually intuitive Dashboards
- Automated user authorization workflow, incorporating a client approver step and Support setup step
- Collaborative Workspace to enhance cross-functional communication and streamline workflows
Having absorbed these twelve essential recommendations for constructing your custom Litigation Management system, it’s worth looking forward, anticipating the impact that these changes could have on your day-to-day activities and overall success of your litigation management. The expected results are not merely an abstract, but a measurable transformation in your litigation processes.
Expected Results
Improved Data Accuracy and Cost Efficiency
An effective litigation management system provides a foundation for improved data accuracy. How? By reducing redundancy and duplicative efforts. High accuracy means less time spent on error correction, leading to lower costs. By utilizing automated workflows and smart templates, for instance, you’ll have more consistent, standardized data with fewer errors. This reduces the costs associated with manual checks and revisions.
Time Savings and Streamlined Processes
Time is a precious resource, especially in litigation management. A well-structured system can save you significant hours, allowing you to focus on case strategy rather than administrative tasks. For example, instead of manually searching through vast amounts of documents or calculating case-related deadlines, these tasks are automated, resulting in time savings and streamlined processes.
With deadlines delivered to your schedule, you’re free to focus your time and energy where it matters most – building your case strategy.
Enhanced Information Management and Analysis
Information is power. But in the modern age, it’s not just about having data, it’s about having meaningful data in an easily digestible form.
A robust litigation management system feeds you the information you need, transforming raw data into actionable insights through visual analytics, reports, and dashboards. Plus, capitalizing on emerging technologies allows for an enriched analytical experience, enhancing your ability to make informed decisions.
Flexibility and Scalability
Litigation requirements can change quickly and dramatically. A well-built system ensures that you’re ready for anything. It offers scalability to accommodate larger volumes of data or more complex cases, and flexibility to adapt to changing litigation requirements.
The holistic approach we suggest ensures a seamless interaction between strategy, services, and technology to support all your litigation management goals.
Cost Reduction and Control
With an efficient Litigation Management system, you’ll not only reduce the cost of managing litigation but also gain more control over these costs. By streamlining processes, reducing redundancy, and automating tasks, the system ensures efficient use of resources. This holistic control and reduction of costs contribute directly to your bottom line.
Defensibility
With an effective system in place, you’re ensuring efficiency, which in turn provides a defensible methodology that can withstand scrutiny. This boosts your credibility and builds trust with your clients.
Ensuring Consistency and Compliance
A litigation management system can assist in maintaining consistency throughout the lifecycle of a case, from planning and communication to execution, maintenance, and completion.
Moreover, it can create a uniform method for how documents and data are collected, loaded, reviewed, coded, organized, and maintained. The system also enables audit trails for all workflows and data changes which helps with regulatory compliance and strengthening risk management.
More Flexibility and Trust
In the end, a robust litigation management system leads to less chaos, less stress, and greater trust in your litigation processes. This is not just about improving operations; it’s about enhancing your peace of mind.
You gain more flexibility to adapt to changes, greater trust in the accuracy of your data, and most importantly – more restful sleep, free from the anxieties of managing complex litigation. So, breathe a sigh of relief knowing that your customized Litigation Management system will tame the chaos, allowing you to focus on what truly matters.
Author
Share article:
Nancy has a knack for color-coding and organization. Give her a rainbow collection of sticky-notes, highlighters, and space to outline a plan and she’s in paradise. So, it’s not surprising that she has an incessant need and talent of taking large amounts of data, information and client requirements and organizing them into a Litigation Management workflow with built-in processes. Learn more about Nancy.
