Three Top Reasons to Invest in E-Discovery Technology in the Downturn Economy

Contact: Warwick Sharp, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Equivio Inc.
(800) 851-1965 | info@equivio.com | www.equivio.com

With the global financial crisis wreaking havoc across the world's strongest economies, some observers may have been surprised to observe the continued momentum, and even expectations of an upswing in litigation technology sales. This phenomenon begs the question — Why are corporations, government and law firms expected to use e-discovery technology more intensively through the economy's down cycle?

REASON #1: ECONOMY DOWN, LITIGATION UP

Historically, litigation has been a growth business in the down cycle. Based on the early evidence, it seems that the same rules will apply this time around. This was certainly the tone at the Masters Conference in Washington mid-October. Virtually every law firm or e-discovery vendor that we have spoken with over the past month has expressed similar sentiments. The Fulbright & Jaworski 2008 Litigation Trends Survey backs this intuitive feeling shared by many in the industry with data from the field.

More litigation, and more investigations, doesn't just mean more business for e-discovery vendors and law firms. All players in the litigation playing field — corporations, law firms, service providers and government — will need to manage more litigation with existing, if not lowered, levels of resources. We can expect a technology crunch, as people try to work around the coming bottleneck. Software has always been an effective way to squeeze more, often much much more, out of given resources. Indeed, as people start to become cognizant of the coming crunch, we are seeing a sharp spike in interest around analytical capabilities that can drive productivity gains.

REASON #2: ECONOMY DOWN, GET COSTS DOWN

With corporations challenged by reduced revenue expectations, they are looking to maintain profit levels by reducing costs. Increased litigation volumes will exacerbate cost pressures in the litigation arena. To deal with the challenge, corporations are looking to reduce their litigation costs. Litigation review costs represent one of the largest addressable costs in the litigation cycle. From Equivio's perspective, the interest in our technology is often framed in terms of productivity and the review cost efficiencies that can be achieved by grouping the review data intelligently.

REASON #3: ECONOMY DOWN, GET RISKS DOWN

Corporations can expect more pressure than ever, not just in the shape of more litigation, but also from regulators. The growing participation of government is also liable to enhance the complexity of litigation in the banking arena. Moreover, some of the expected litigation, especially that driven by aggrieved customers in the financial sector, if successful, is liable to have a multiplier effect. This raises the stakes for corporations. To help minimize risk and exposure, corporations are telling us: "We want to adopt technology that can reduce our risk in litigation." Specifically, they are talking to us about taking on tools — either directly in-house or via their service providers — that can help them, and their outside counsel, find the data they need to effectively press their case.

TRANSLATING TECHNOLOGY INTO CORPORATE SAVINGS

With the economic downturn in mind, calculate how much your company could save in litigation review on its next case. Our ROI Calculator can estimate your potential savings using near-duplicate and email threads analysis. Calculate your savings now.

Warwick Sharp
Vice President, Marketing and Business Development
Equivio Inc.
5260-G Nicholson Lane
Suite 150
Kensington, MD 20895
(800) 851-1965
info@equivio.com
www.equivio.com

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