Custodian Interviews - How to Leverage a Valuable Opportunity
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CUSTODIAN INTERVIEWS MAXIMIZING A VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY
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Transcript of Custodian Interviews - How to Leverage a Valuable Opportunity
CUSTODIAN INTERVIEWSMAXIMIZING A VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY
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SPEAKERS
Matthew Verga, J.D.– Director, Content Marketing and eDiscovery Strategy,
Modus eDiscovery Inc.
– Matthew Verga has spent the past eight years working in electronic discovery, four years as a practicing attorney with an AmLaw 100 firm and four years as a consultant with national electronic discovery service providers. Matthew has personally designed and managed many large scale electronic discovery efforts and has overseen the design and management of many more as both an attorney and a consultant. As a consultant, Matthew has counseled substantial companies and law firms at both the matter and the enterprise level.
– As the Director of Content Marketing and eDiscovery Strategy for Modus eDiscovery Inc., Matthew is responsible both for enterprise-level consulting engagements and for the creation of articles, white papers, webinars and workshops in support of Modus’s thought leadership efforts.
SPEAKERS
Gary Torgersen, CCE, EnCE– Manager of Forensic Services, Modus eDiscovery Inc.
– A seasoned forensics expert, Gary Torgersen possesses more than 12 years experience in the eDiscovery and digital forensics industry. He stays on the cutting edge of technology to meet the needs of his clients, including creating custom collection processes and platforms and developing proprietary technology assisted review programs and workflows.
– As Manager of Forensic Services for Modus eDiscovery, Gary oversees and manages the Modus Forensics and Collections department. Gary oversees and conducts data collections, performs computer forensic analysis, and provides reporting, in conjunction with clients and Modus Project Management and Data Management teams. Gary also testifies in court on behalf of clients, and is responsible for preparing affidavits and giving depositions.
PROGRAM AGENDA
Why They Matter
Who to Interview
What to Ask
How to Document Answers
When to Leverage the Results
Key Takeaways
Questions and Answers
WHY THEY MATTER
WHY THEY MATTER
Three main reasons:– Satisfying preservation obligations
– Gathering valuable discovery intelligence
– Disseminating important litigation information
Satisfying preservation obligations– Custodians are key information sources
– They know what exists
– They know where it is or is likely to be
WHY THEY MATTER, CONT.
Valuable discovery intelligence– Direct information regarding
o Device usage
o Software usage
o File storage practices
o Backup practices
o Communication practices
– Relative priority of people and sources
– Likely content (form and substance) of sources
WHY THEY MATTER, CONT.
Information dissemination– Disinformation and rumor common
– Opportunity to directly disseminate details and answer questions
– Opportunity to ensure hold understanding and compliance
– Opportunity to get face to face with key individuals
WHO TO INTERVIEW
WHO TO INTERVIEW
In general, three buckets to be filled: – Key custodians
– Representative custodians
– Departmental custodians
Key custodians– Who they are
– Why they matter
– Priority
WHO TO INTERVIEW, CONT.
Representative custodians– Who they are
– Why they matter
– When they are used
Departmental custodians– Who they are
– Why they matter
– How they differ
WHAT TO ASK
WHAT TO ASK
Introduction to script concept
Script development process– Participants
Use of templates or previous scripts as starting point
Tailored to respondents
WHAT TO ASK, CONT.
Who they are– Identity, role, and connections
What they do– Activities, materials used, and materials generated
How they do it– Paper, hardware, software, and other tools or systems
WHAT TO ASK, CONT.
With whom they communicate– Internal and external, related to the matter, other suggestions
How they communicate– E-mail, text, voice, chat, paper, etc.
Whether they understand and will comply– Meaning of hold, meaning of interview, meaning of compliance
WHAT TO ASK, CONT.
Device information– Computers, mobile devices, storage devices/media, etc.
Usage and practice information– Software tools, file formats, local/network/cloud storage, etc.
IT systems information– Backup practices, janitorial functions, search and retrieval options, etc.
WHAT TO ASK, CONT.
WHAT TO ASK, CONT.
WHAT TO ASK, CONT.
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS
Three main approaches:– Conversational interviews with manual recordation
– Scripted interviews with formatted recordation
– Automated “interviews” and recordation
Conversational interviews with manual recordation– Simplest and most traditional, one-on-one
o Can be started quickly and with little cost and allows you to speak with every custodian
o BUT, yields inconsistent notes that are less useful and is time consuming when custodians are numerous
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS, CONT.
Scripted interviews with formatted recordation– Closely follow a detailed script
– Record answers in a structured way to speed aggregation and enhance utility
– Options include PDF forms, spreadsheets, and pre-formatted text documentso Yields more consistent, useful information, and multiple interviewers can conduct
identical interviews
o BUT requires more time and expense to start and is time consuming when custodians are numerous
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS, CONT.
Automated “interviews” and recordation– No one-on-one interviews (at least initially)
– Electronic questionnaires or web-based surveyso Easily scales to accommodate numerous custodians, produces consistent, easily-
used information, and custodians can be asked to sign and certify their answers
o BUT requires the most time and expense to start and there are none of the peripheral benefits from speaking to all of the custodians
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS, CONT.
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS, CONT.
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS, CONT.
HOW TO DOCUMENT ANSWERS, CONT.
WHEN TO LEVERAGE THE RESULTS
WHEN TO LEVERAGE THE RESULTS
Validation of preservation– Confirm assumptions made about the appropriate scope of
preservation (i.e., what individuals, departments, and systems to include) or to adjust that scope, if needed
– Confirm that all relevant individuals have understood, are complying with, and will continue to comply with the preservation requirements
– Confirm that all relevant automated janitorial functions or back-up media recycling have been identified and suspended
WHEN TO LEVERAGE THE RESULTS, CONT.
Prioritization and organization of collection and processing– Sources most likely to contain relevant data or documents can be
identified and prioritized ahead of all other sources.
– Sources unlikely to contain relevant data or documents can be identified and excluded from collection and processing.
– The quantity and diversity of sources requiring collection and processing can be determined and leveraged to inform decisions regarding collection methodologies.
WHEN TO LEVERAGE THE RESULTS, CONT.
Prioritization and customization of review– The data and documents from the sources most likely to contain
relevant materials can be identified and prioritized ahead of the data and documents from all other sources.
– Qualitative information from the custodians about the relevant materials can be provided to the reviewers to enhance the quality and efficiency of their review.
– Advance knowledge of privilege prevalence (and other content attributes) can be used to inform better decisions about who should review a particular set of materials and how they should be reviewed.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
KEY TAKEAWAYS
WHY– Preservation obligations– Discovery intelligence– Information dissemination
WHO– Key custodians– Representative custodians– Departmental custodians
WHAT– Identity– Activities– Communications– Compliance
HOW– Conversational– Scripted– Automated
WHEN– Preservation– Collection– Review
Q / A
