The Right Choice for Secure Remote Review? Considerations and Qualifications

Editor’s Note: During the last month, the task of legal document review has been magnified in eDiscovery circles by the geographical restrictions and social distancing requirements driven by the unfortunate outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This magnification of the task of review has led to a proliferation of announcements regarding the availability of secure remote review services. These announcements, ranging from reminders of previously released offerings to the introduction of new services, validate the importance and necessity of secure remote review services in today’s new remote-centric workplace. The announcements also highlight the need for decision-makers in the eDiscovery ecosystem to carefully consider experience when evaluating secure remote review providers.

An overview of considerations for selecting secure remote review services as well as a snapshot of HaystackID qualifications is provided in the following article to help ensure you make the right choice and best choice for your secure remote review needs for audits, investigations, and litigation.


The Right Choice for Secure Remote Review: Provider Considerations

Three Models of eDiscovery Review (1, 2)

Within the context of data and legal eDiscovery, the task of review consists of the evaluation of digital information to identify relevant and responsive documents to produce, and privileged documents or confidential or sensitive information to withhold. This important eDiscovery task represents a significant portion of the total worldwide spend on eDiscovery and is projected to consume approximately 68% ($8.61B) of all worldwide eDiscovery software and services spending in 2020.

There are generally three models for the delivery of eDiscovery review services including:

+ Remote Review Model  (Diversification of Reviewers)
+ On-Premise Review Model (Diversification of Review Centers)
+ Hybrid On-Premise and Remote Review Model (Distributed Diversification)

Each model may be appropriate for different eDiscovery business continuity situations, with the best balance of safety, security, effectiveness, and economic value appearing to be the remote review model when implemented through a secure remote review infrastructure.

A Short Definition and Description of Secure Remote Review (3, 4)

secure remote review is the conduct of a legal document review project with virtual teams operating from remote locations and supported by a secure infrastructure. When properly implemented by a proven and experienced provider, this approach to review may increase the quality and speed of reviews while removing many of the safety risks associated with group gatherings. It also, in many cases, can be delivered at lower costs than traditional on-premise reviews.

Not all secure remote review offerings are equal as the apparent experience a provider has in delivering and supporting secure remote review services, when viewed through the veil of branding or the halo effect of other eDiscovery offerings, may vary greatly from the reality of actual provider experience. Said differently, just because a provider has had success in delivering legal document review services and now has introduced a secure remote review capability, it does not mean the provider is experienced in providing secure remote review services. This point is incredibly salient as remote technology and connectivity infrastructure can be scaled almost immediately by eDiscovery providers. However, eDiscovery providers cannot instantly scale their experience in delivering secure remote review services. As data and legal discovery professionals consider recent announcements regarding secure remote review services, they may benefit from a structured evaluation of a provider’s experience before selecting a provider to support important legal document review projects.

A Structured Evaluation of Provider Experience (5)

General questions that may help clarify a provider’s experience and expertise with remote secure review services include but are not limited to:

+ How long have you offered secure remote review services?
+ How many secure remote review projects have you completed?
+ How many of your reviewers and review managers have participated in a secure remote review project?
+ How many of your reviewers and review managers have participated in a training and certification program for secure remote review projects?
+ Is the secure remote review service you are offering organic to the organization or delivered through a partnership?

Areas of experience that should be evaluated when selecting secure remote review service providers include:

+ Experience with remote technology
+ Experience with remote security
+ Experience with remote teams
+ Experience with remote processes
+ Experience with remote communications
+ Experience with remote troubleshooting

Additionally, in looking through the lens of the six aforementioned areas of experience, it is essential to understand and evaluate a provider’s collective level of experience in delivering secure remote review services, including:

+ Experience of the organization with remote services
+ Experience of management teams with remote services
+ Experience of individuals with remote services

A provider’s collective level of secure remote review experience may be a key indicator of the true depth and breadth of their complete secure remote review capability. The deeper the collective experience, the higher the probability of integrated, optimized, and proven processes and procedures for supporting core tasks (e.g., review, review management, and review metrics), as well as enabling tasks (e.g., staffing, training, certification, billing, continuing education).

Careful and courteous questioning of secure remote review service providers on their specific areas and levels of experience may mean the difference between streamlined success or subsidized learning (by the secure remote review provider) during the implementation and execution of secure remote reviews.

The Right Choice for Secure Remote Review: HaystackID Qualifications (6)

HaystackID continues to be uniquely positioned as the industry leader and most experienced provider in delivering secure remote review services for legal document reviews. Our first-to-market remote review infrastructure has been leveraged by AmLaw 100 and Fortune 500 clients for more than six years, with more than 425 projects completed to date. With more than 16,000 qualified reviewers available to support secure legal document reviews, HaystackID’s ReviewRight services continue to be the first choice and best choice for secure remote review for data and legal discovery professionals.

ReviewRight is a specialized set of document review services from HaystackID designed to help law firms and legal departments quickly and accurately learn from their data to make the right decisions for positive and quality investigation and litigation outcomes. These specialized services address essential eDiscovery needs for complex, data-intensive reviews.

+ ReviewRight Virtual (Secure Remote Review)
+ ReviewRight Match (Reviewer Qualification and Sourcing)
+ ReviewRight Translate (Foreign Language Review)
+ ReviewRight Manage (Managed Review)
+ ReviewRight Host (Review Hosting)
+ ReviewRight Automate (Technology-Enhanced Review)

Powerful enough to be used individually and unmatched in capability when integrated, HaystackID’s ReviewRight services are the first choice and best choice for document review services by the world’s top corporations and leading law firms.

Within this offering portfolio, the core of HaystackID’s remote review capability is enabled by ReviewRight Virtual and ReviewRight Match. When used in combination, these two offerings allow for the immediate mobilization of the best qualified and available reviewers regardless of language or location and provide a secure remote review infrastructure for delivering virtual review teams.

ReviewRight Virtual

Review teams need the flexibility to securely operate as part of virtual teams from anywhere at any time. ReviewRight Virtual provides that capability through the delivery of a scalable, fully managed virtual desktop environment that enables remote reviewers to communicate, connect, and conduct reviews with best-of-breed technologies that are integrated and delivered securely as a single service.

ReviewRight Virtual Integrated Enabling Technologies

+ Secure Email: Communicate using one of the world’s most popular, intuitive, and secure email platforms delivered with G Suite from Google.
+ Encrypted Chat: Connect virtual team members with access-controlled chat powered by the messaging platform built for teams, Hangouts Chat.
+ Robust Review Platforms: Conduct reviews remotely leveraging HaystackID-hosted world-class review platforms, including Relativity.
+ Virtual Machines: Secure review communications, connections, and conduct with a customized and highly secure Desktop-as-a-Service infrastructure.

HaystackID’s ReviewRight Virtual service includes quick spin-up, virtualization software, patching and updates, security, bandwidth, productivity applications (email, chat, and review platforms), reporting and monitoring all for a predictable monthly operating cost.

Additionally, ReviewRight Virtual cloud-delivered desktops enable organizations to restrict access and capabilities using more than 100 available control attributes that can be customized to support access needs.

Commonly Implemented Controls

+ Restrict User Administrative Rights
+ Disable USB Access to Peripheral Devices
+ Deny Printing (Local, Network, Screen)
+ Clipboard Redirection
+ File and Folder Redirection
+ Turn Off Copy Completely

Key Security Benefits of ReviewRight Virtual Include:

+ Endpoint Security: Protect against device theft or loss and control where data resides by getting it off the endpoint.
+ Protection of Sensitive or Proprietary Data: Control or restrict specific behaviors to ensure users can access only what they need.
+ Seamless Integration with Existing App Structure: No need for duplicate authentication systems or to require users to manage multiple logins and passwords.
+ Elimination of Network Vulnerabilities: Highly redundant, highly available balancers, front-side/ back-side network isolation, VLAN and IP address, isolation and customer-specific security configurations.
+ Reduction of Device and OS Maintenance: Hardened OS results in greater security and control while enterprise-grade anti-malware, rigorous patching and updates, and golden image management ease traditional IT burdens.

Key Productivity Benefits of ReviewRight Virtual Include:

+ High Performance: Purpose-built for speed and optimal performance on infrastructure that delivers 99.99% availability.
+ Business Continuity: Ensure reviewers always have access to time-sensitive projects.
+ Proven Applications: Field-proven secure email, encrypted chat, and leading review platforms
ensure reviewers have the best tools to help drive the best outcomes.
+ Compliant Desktops: Independently verified PCI and HIPAA compliant cloud-delivered desktops.

With a combined privacy capability that addresses requirements at the user level, endpoint device, endpoint session, OS and application, network, and physical security level’s, ReviewRight Virtual gives organizations the flexibility they need to support remote reviews without any sacrifice of security or productivity.

ReviewRight Match

ReviewRight Match sets the standard for document review staffing, enablement, and support through the application of a combination of proprietary technologies, innovative evaluation tools, and proven protocols that allow for the rapid and comprehensive sourcing, testing, and qualification of reviewers. This ReviewRight process enables us to present to clients individuals who are not only legal review experts, but review experts with the appropriate domain expertise, proper language skills, and necessary responsibility experience to accomplish the specific review tasks required in your review requirement.

The ReviewRight Match Selection Program

The core of the ReviewRight Match process is the active and systematic recruitment and continuous evaluation of qualified document review attorneys as part of a comprehensive reviewer selection program. The reviewer selection program consists of four key elements, that when successfully navigated, allow review candidates to be considered for ReviewRight projects.

Core Selection Program Elements

+ The Enrollment Process: The enrollment process consists of the registration of potential reviewers with ReviewRight via the ReviewRight.com portal. The registration steps introduce reviewers to the ReviewRight selection process and harvest reviewer information ranging from licensure and education to review history and referral sources. Additionally, the enrollment process presents reviewers with the opportunity to take the ReviewRight document review test.

+ The Qualification Process: Once enrolled, reviewers who seek to continue in the selection process for ReviewRight opportunities are administered a 15 question skills test that presents a basic review protocol, a short legal document for review, and asks reviewers specific questions that provide immediate and quantifiable insight into a reviewer’s legal review capability. The results from this skills testing, along with the information gathered during the registration process, allows ReviewRight to begin to assess reviewers as candidates for ReviewRight projects holistically.

+ The Assessment Process: Individuals who have completed ReviewRight enrollment and qualification processes are then evaluated by the ReviewRight reviewer selection committee to determine whether they meet the standards required for ReviewRight projects. This evaluation consists of the subjective consideration of a reviewer’s background and experience and the objective consideration of the reviewer’s skills testing as quantified by metrics to include precision, recall, and average documents reviewed per hour. These subjective and objective considerations are then applied to ReviewRight’s proprietary five-point rating scale to allow for the assignment of a numerical rating to each reviewer. This rating serves as the basis for certifying all enrolled, qualified, and assessed reviewers and ultimately determines whether a reviewer receives the designation of being ReviewRight Certified.

+ The Certification Process: Once reviewers have been enrolled, qualified, and assessed, they are assigned a ReviewRight rating that is used to separate individuals who are certified for assignment on projects and those who are not certified at their current rating level for assignment on projects.

Once review candidates successfully navigate this selection program and are certified as ReviewRight reviewers, they are further classified based on practice area expertise, language knowledge, role experience, and task skills. This allows for the assembling of targeted review teams with the highest level of expertise, knowledge, proficiency, and skills for each review project.

Key Benefits of ReviewRight Match Include:

+ Confidence in the Capability of Reviewers: The comprehensive ReviewRight selection process ensures that the individuals recommended for your review project are the very best available reviewers for your specific needs, not just the best reviewers available. This process provides you with the confidence you need to focus on reviews and not the review selection process.

+ Speed in the Assembly of Review Teams: The robust catalog of ReviewRight certified reviewers developed from a comprehensive selection process augmented with a detailed classification of expertise, knowledge, experience, and task skills, allows you to quickly and efficiently source appropriate reviewers for your specific needs. This speed saves you time and money while accelerating your ability to translate information into insight and insight into intelligence that can be applied to your audit, investigation, or litigation effort.

+ High-Performance Review Capability: The detailed assessment of review backgrounds and experience coupled with objective testing and evaluation metrics ensure that your review team not only performs but performs at the very highest level possible. As past performance generally is the single best predictor of future performance, ReviewRight’s continuous assessment and evaluation processes ensure you always have the highest performing reviewers at the time of your review project available for your use. This increases the efficiency and effectiveness of your review efforts and allows you to rapidly, accurately, and cost-effectively achieve your review objectives.

+ Seamless Integration with All ReviewRight Services: Access to a full suite of review services beyond ReviewRight Match, including ReviewRight Translate, ReviewRight Manage, ReviewRight Host, ReviewRight Host, and ReviewRight Virtual. This integration provides you with a full review capability beyond sourcing of reviewers to support the entire breadth and depth of your review effort regardless of location, data reduction requirements, and case-specific expertise requirements.

A Proven Combination (7,8)

This combined capability of ReviewRight Virtual and ReviewRight Match has also been shown to increase the quality and speed of reviews as the pool of available reviewers with needed qualifications is not constrained by geographical proximity to review centers, and the speed of engagement is not restrained by fixed facility operations. HaystackID has performed more than 425 remote review projects to date with the projects spanning the spectrum of vertical industry markets and supporting many of the world’s top companies and leading law firms in matters requiring up to hundreds of reviewers.

As the leader in remote legal document review, HaystackID provides our clients with instant access to more than 16,000 certified review attorneys who are available for selection and integration into our remote managed review teams through our ReviewRight Virtual offering. Our potential pool of virtual reviewers, the streamlined manner in which we can onboard reviewers for remote review, and our established base of current reviewers with ReviewRight Virtual experience, allows us to help those in the eDiscovery ecosystem maintain review continuity without sacrificing quality or increasing review costs.

Learn More. Today.

Contact HaystackID today to learn more about our ReviewRight services and how they can help you initiate, execute, and manage secure remote reviews and maintain business continuity.

About HaystackID

HaystackID is a specialized eDiscovery services firm that helps corporations and law firms find, listen to, and learn from data when they face complex, data-intensive investigations and litigation. With an earned reputation for mobilizing industry-leading computer forensics, eDiscovery, and attorney document review experts, our Forensics First, Early Case Insight, and ReviewRight services accelerate and deliver quality outcomes at a fair and predictable price.

HaystackID serves more than 500 of the world’s leading corporations and law firms from North American and European locations. Our combination of expertise and technical excellence, coupled with a culture of white glove customer service, makes us the alternative legal services provider that is big enough to matter but small enough to care. Learn more at HaystackID.com.

 


Footnotes

(1) Robinson, Rob. “A 2020 Look at eDiscovery Review: Task, Spend, and Cost Data Points”. ComplexDiscovery, 2020, https://complexdiscovery.com/a-2020-look-at-ediscovery-review-task-spend-and-cost-data-points/. Accessed 31 Mar 2020.

(2) “eDiscovery Business Continuity Planning With HaystackID”. HaystackID, 2020, https://haystackid.com/ediscovery-business-continuity-planning-with-haystackid/. Accessed 31 Mar 2020.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Robinson, Rob. “Enabling Remote eDiscovery? A Snapshot of DaaS”. ComplexDiscovery, 2020, https://complexdiscovery.com/extending-the-reach-of-ediscovery-a-snapshot-of-daas/. Accessed 31 Mar 2020.

(5) Robinson, Rob. “Are You Experienced? Considering Remote Ediscovery Services”. ComplexDiscovery, 2020, https://complexdiscovery.com/are-you-experienced-considering-remote-ediscovery-services/. Accessed 31 Mar 2020.

(6) Secure Remote Review Services From HaystackID. HaystackID, 2020, https://haystackid.com/ediscovery-information-guides/. Accessed 8 Apr 2020.

(7) Schechtman, Seth. “The Right Way To Review Remotely.” HaystackID, 2019, https://haystackid.com/the-right-way-to- review-remotely/.

(8) HaystackID. HaystackID Recruiting Metrics – Regular Reporting. HaystackID, 2020, p. Recruiting Performance Metrics Table. Accessed 28 Feb 2020.