How Cole, Scott & Kissane Marries Speed and Defensibility in Its Ediscovery Process
Cole, Scott & Kissane has efficiency at its core. As Florida’s largest full-service law firm, with the most defense attorneys in the state, CSK is known for offering exemplary client service with exceptional speed. The firm proudly boasts of closing nearly 5,000 files over the past twelve months, with an average lifecycle of under 90 days.
As the firm’s litigation support manager for ediscovery, Manual Delgado is charged with making sure the firm’s attorneys can continue to set the pace for Florida’s legal industry.
With over two decades of experience, Delgado has seen the ediscovery evolve from the slow and arcane processes of the early days of ESI into the far faster, more efficient, and more accessible approaches used today.
“I have seen ediscovery change from early 2002 to this date,” Delgado explains. “I remember when the ediscovery platforms required vendors to create load files for the files received from clients—it was very basic.”
As technology evolved, bringing ediscovery into the core work of law firms became increasingly appealing. “The tools were very archaic, but over the years, they got better,” he says. “From 2012 forward, we began having processing engines and were able to do productions, QC the productions, and more, in-house.”
Bringing the Discovery Process Back Into the Firm for Greater Efficiency
According to Delgado, one of the benefits of doing ediscovery in-house is that the firm has control over the time range and the time period that productions or reviews are conducted.
“Most of the time, when you're dealing with outside vendors you're stuck with 8:00 to 5:00,” he says. “Anything after five o'clock is an emergency and they have to obtain permission or get authorization, which slows everything down.”
With Everlaw, the firm can move far faster and with far more collaboration. “With Everlaw,” Delgado explains, “we’re able to use features that allow us to communicate and make changes in real-time. We can get reviews done more efficiently and get productions out more quickly.”
Speed Without Compromise
According to Delgado, Everlaw allows his team to act confidently when moving through the discovery process.
“When I use Everlaw,” he says, “I know that the firm is going to be compliant with its productions because when we ingest the documents in Everlaw, it preserves all the metadata. After we're done tagging, when we go to produce, it allows us to produce the documents that are compliant with the state or federal rules.”
Using Everlaw, his team can also quickly pinpoint gaps in productions from opposing counsel, whether gaps in email time ranges or folder structures that indicate something may have been left out.
“It’s easier to identify noncompliance,” Delgado explains, “but at the same time, it’s easier to identify compliance when you’re looking at your own documents and knowing everything is defensible,” he said.
According to Delgado, Everlaw has given Cole, Scott & Kissane numerous advantages over other technology. He finds Everlaw’s Storybuilder tool particularly useful. “Storybuilder allows me to create a case and work through it until what I call the end of life, which is after trial,” he says.
“It allows me to work with the attorneys, create witnesses, create documents that are associated to witnesses, have a timeline. Storybuilder enables me to produce documents and an exhibit list at a moment's notice, no matter what the size.”
“In the past, I've produced an exhibit list of over 900 exhibits in about 15, 20 minutes at the most.”
Cole, Scott & Kissane’s success with Everlaw typifies how, with the right technology, modern firms can turn the discovery process into a strategic advantage. The result is a more efficient, more effective workflow that empowers CSK to maintain its reputation as a fast-moving, full-service defense leader in Florida. And for Delgado, it means peace of mind: he can empower attorneys with confidence, knowing that the firm’s tools will keep the firm at the forefront of ediscovery best practices.
