REVIEW
Processing | Review | Production
OVERVIEW
Start saving money right away. Our five-tiered culling and review system gives you complete control of your case documents and project costs.
System Files. Unless specified at set-up, 
automatically sets system files aside reducing the amount of data that needs to be reviewed.
Dynamic Index. Upload and review your index. Don't convert what you don't need. Select for conversion by file type or upload label. Save your client money.
Pre-review culling. You have complete access to all fields, including the metadata, and are now in the driver's seat to perform your own culling -- before the review team even gets started.
Attorney Review. 's review feature offers cost effective, organized, easy to use, and time saving tools that will please everyone. If you need attorney review help to meet a tight deadline, Neil & Associates', 's parent company, offers contract attorney services for relevance, issue review and project management. Our experienced attorney reviewers produce a proven quality product to meet your professional standards at a reasonable rate. Phone 415-392-1900, email info@neilandassociates.com, or visit www.neilandassociates.com
PRACTICAL AND TECHNICAL DISCUSSION
Elimination of System files. When data is uploaded to , we automatically exclude .exe, .ini, .dll, and other system files so you are never paying for files you don't need. (If you have a case where software code is at issue, just contact us and we can retain and display them).
Index review. Before you pay a dime, you can review and print your population's index. Our dynamic index allows you to view chain of custody, custodians, file name, type and size in a clearly useable format. View your files in native format before selecting them for conversion, lowering your client's cost even further.
Duplicates and near duplicates. Duplicates are determined by hash value (what is a hash value?). In addition, 's duplication reports make documenting, viewing, and producing duplicates a snap.
Near duplicates are created by comparing content of each document against the every other document in your population. Near-duplicates technology facilitates intelligent review by allowing users to discretely review related documents.
Culling. You can perform metadata culling in-house with confidence because you have all the control you need. With over 30 searchable data fields you can cull by: source, file type, date ranges, document characteristic, all email fields, text and more. View PDF images of the documents side-by-side with the metadata to make better-informed culling decisions. Culled documents go into the non-pertinent folder and are not displayed within search results, yet are easily included if desired.
Get organized. Get ready for your reviewers by organizing case documents into folders created for specific reviewers, or design your own case relevant folder labeling.
Attorney Review. Authorized management level users can create issues with associated description and issue criteria to keep your review team in sync. Create deponent folders, exhibit folders and much more. Reviewers can issue code, redact and assign privilege designation to individual documents and batch search results.
QUALITY CONTROL FOR ELIMINATING DATA SPOLIATION:
MD5 HASH VALUES, SEPARATE INPUT/OUTPUT SERVERS, READ ONLY FILES
MD5 Hash Values
“In cryptography, MD5 (Message-Digest algorithm 5) is a widely used cryptographic hash function with a 128-bit hash value. As an internet standard (RFC 1321), MD5 has been employed in a wide variety of security applications, and is also commonly used to check the integrity of files. An MD5 hash is typically a 32-character hexadecimal number.”
All electronic files are made up of a series of bits that relate to a file’s composition and any other attributes that define the file. Based on this composition of bits, a unique identifier can be created for any electronic file.
An electronic function, in this case an algorithm, called MD5 (Message-Digest algorithm 5) can be run against a file to create a unique identifier that is similar to a serial number or a fingerprint of a file. The identifier, referred to as a MD5 hash value, is a unique binary string of alphanumeric characters. Here is an example of a MD5 hash value: ‘a900de1a7eebc39ce36fa142f6d51fb0’.
Each time the same MD5 algorithm is run against a particular file, the exact same hash value will be produced thereby ensuring the integrity of the file. If a single bit has changed in the file, then a new MD5 hash value would be returned that would not match the original MD5 hash value and thus indicate that they are different files.
In short,the system compares the MD5 hash value of the original file on the client’s machine to the MD5 hash value of the copy that is uploaded to the servers:
- The system runs MD5 against the file on the client’s system and uploads a unique hash value that is noted in the system.
- When the original file is uploaded, the MD5 hash value of the copied file is compared to the pre-upload MD5 hash value from the client’s side.
- If the MD5 hash values are exactly the same, then the uploaded file is stored on the servers for electronic conversion.
Separate Input/Output Servers
All uploaded files are stored on designated input servers separate from the output servers. The uploaded directory structure mimics the directory structure where the files were stored on the client’s computer. For example, if the documents were uploaded from the client’s computer under the file path “C:/Desktop/Case_One/Case_Files/file_name.extension”, then that is how they are stored on the input server. This ensures that the original uploaded copies do not commingle with any other files before, during or after the electronic conversion process.
Read Only Files
During the electronic conversion process a read only copy of a file is accessed by the system by applications that can render them. The original file is then closed, but not saved, thereby maintaining the exact original form of the uploaded file.
Processing | Review | Production