A global Fortune 200 financial services company with operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America engaged Harbor to transform its strategy for handling electronically stored information (ESI) and develop a new operating model.
The client was experiencing rapidly escalating fees and costs associated with the processing and analysis of ESI in the context of litigation, investigations and regulatory matters.
The discovery dashboard enables continuous improvement by measuring internal workload, policy compliance, provider performance and the effectiveness of early data analysis and accelerated review methodologies. null, null at null
Developing a new operating model
As part of a company-wide optimization effort, the client engaged Harbor to transform its strategy for handling ESI and develop a new operating model. The Harbor engagement team collaborated with the client to create and implement a plan that encompassed:
- Governance, organizational structure and defined processes for the discovery support team
- Technology and service provider review, selection and fee negotiation
- Reporting spend and performance metrics
Governance, organizational structure and defined processes for the discovery support team
The new operating model included cross-functional governance representing ESI stakeholders from across the organization, including law department, information technology and corporate investigations groups.
New policies empower the discovery support team to ensure that centralized decision-making, assignment of preferred services providers and consistent application of defensible accelerated document review strategies occur.
Transforming the roles of the discovery support team enabled the team to apply their knowledge of the business, tooled with innovative technologies, to implement strategies that reduced the cost of document review and supported the early resolution of matters.
As a result of this initiative, the client has a comprehensive process for assessing matters requiring e-Discovery, assigning and managing preferred service providers, applying accelerated review methodology and tracking performance and spend across the complete lifecycle.
Technology and service provider review and selection
A new strategy for deploying technology was defined to address the client’s need to minimize the impact on internal resources and provide a continuously high level of service to the company and its outside counsel while providing access to innovative technologies. The defined technology enhancements aid in reducing costs.
An innovative managed services partnership was implemented to support self-service capabilities in addition to full-service support to meet the needs of each matter. The pricing model was transformed into a managed services billing model to give the client budget predictability and transparency.
Reporting spend, performance metrics and pricing
A discovery dashboard was designed and implemented to provide comprehensive reporting of spend and performance metrics.
The discovery dashboard enables continuous improvement by measuring internal workload, policy compliance, provider performance, early data analysis effectiveness, and accelerated review methodologies. By establishing new reporting protocols, the client benefits from the ability to review cross-matter reporting. Embedded cost modeling supports more accurate budget forecasting, continuous improvement of internal operations and facilitates data-driven decisions.
Reaping cost reductions
As a result of a collaborative team effort, the client has experienced significant savings and a reduction in ESI costs as an outcome of implementing a new operating model. The new model encompassed centralizing the management of ESI, standardizing processes, enhancing capabilities and entering into favorable financial arrangements with preferred providers.
Results and benefits
The client has experienced significant savings in handling ESI, including:
- $4.2m savings in first 24 months
- $7.8m estimated savings over three years
- 45% reduction estimated reduction of required document review
This engagement was executed by HBR Consulting, one of the companies that merged to form Harbor.
- Discovery
- Information governance
- Managed services