Managed Document Review is a crucial process in legal and investigative matters, where large volumes of documents need to be reviewed and analyzed for relevant information. This step-by-step guide will help you implement Managed Document Review efficiently:

Table of Contents

Step 1: Define the Scope and Objectives

Clearly outline the scope of the document review project. Understand the specific legal case or investigation requirements.
Define the objectives of the review, such as identifying relevant evidence, privileged documents, or sensitive information.

Start my Document Review

Step 2: Assemble the Review Team

Build a competent team of document reviewers and attorneys who are knowledgeable about the subject matter and familiar with the review platform being used.
Conduct training sessions to ensure all reviewers understand the objectives, review criteria, and any specific legal guidelines.

Step 3: Choose the Review Platform and Tools

Select a suitable document review platform that can handle the volume of documents involved in the project.
Ensure the platform has advanced search and analytics features to streamline the review process.
Consider using machine learning-powered tools for email threading, document categorization, and concept clustering to enhance efficiency.

Step 4: Prepare the Document Set

Gather all the relevant documents and data that require review. This could include emails, contracts, memos, and other electronic files.
Organize the documents into a logical structure for easy retrieval and review.

Step 5: Establish a Review Protocol

Develop a review protocol that outlines the criteria for relevance, privilege, and confidentiality.
Set guidelines for redaction and marking of sensitive information.
Create a coding manual that defines the coding categories and their meanings.

Step 6: Conduct the Document Review

Distribute the documents among the review team and provide them with access to the review platform.
Reviewers should categorize each document based on the defined criteria and apply relevant codes and tags.

Step 7: Quality Control and Quality Assurance

Implement a quality control process to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the review.
Randomly sample reviewed documents and have them checked by senior reviewers for validation.
Address any discrepancies or issues that arise during the quality assurance process.

Step 8: Privilege and Redaction Review (If Applicable)

Identify and flag privileged documents that should not be disclosed.
Review sensitive information for redaction to protect personal data or confidential content.

Step 9: Produce the Reviewed Documents

Once the review is complete, produce the reviewed documents in a format suitable for disclosure to the relevant parties.
Prepare a privilege log that documents all privileged documents withheld from disclosure.

Step 10: Post-Production Tasks

Store the reviewed documents securely for future reference and potential litigation.
Conduct a post-review assessment to identify any lessons learned and areas of improvement for future reviews.

Step 11: Continuous Improvement

Analyze the overall process and identify any inefficiencies or bottlenecks.
Consider feedback from the review team and use it to optimize future document review projects.
By following these steps, you can successfully implement Managed Document Review, ensuring a thorough and defensible review process in legal and investigative matters.