• August 27, 2010

Ever spent some aggravating minutes when you have little or no time to spare looking for a document on a messy desk?

Imagine having to find a document somewhere among, say, 35,000 desks…

E-discovery is to large U.S. litigation like air traffic control is to modern aviation.  You don’t want to think very much about one without the other.

On the other hand, what are they doing (the e-discovery vendors, that is, not the air traffic controllers, whose roles seem fairly clear)?  And why do they charge so much (the e-discovery vendors, that is, not the air traffic controllers (though they do pretty well)).  

U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery clearly had some serious reservations about the whopping $580,000 bill from forensic accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) for costs related to work by recognized e-discovery vendor Stratify in connection with the Petters litigation.  She rejected a substantial amount of its claim for payment.  Then, on a motion for reconsideration, in which Stratify’s role was clarified, Judge Montgomery allowed the claim.

(Not every case is the Petters case but even smaller cases can quickly become hard to manage without an e-discovery plan and system in place. )

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