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How can TAR significantly streamline the document review process?

Author: Eliana Menon
by Eliana Menon
Posted: Jul 23, 2021

Introduction To TAR:Over the last decade or so, technology-assisted review (TAR) has become a tool widely used in e-discovery – the standard legal practice for collecting and producing evidence electronically. A TAR software can be described as a computer application legal professionals use to identify relevant documents. Then, they can collect and analyze records and customize the software to identify relevant information accurately, ensure quality, and validate data. Nowadays, most law firms depend upon external?document review services

  • or use TAR to simplify the entire document review process and other relevant processes. In complex cases that require large volumes of documents and their analysis, TAR can significantly simplify and speed up the document review process. However, that doesn’t kill the need for attorneys or paralegals. Vigilance, expertise, and a human eye for detail are the basic requirements to maximize the utilization of TAR tools.eDiscovery processes use automated tools to compute and select requisite documents for legal research. It helps attorneys to attain information, test for quality, and hence to validate data. This article gives an attestation that why there is a need for technology-assisted processes in litigation support services. By deploying TAR early in the case, litigators can quickly evaluate the potential merits of the case, then decide whether to pursue settlement (thus avoiding unnecessary litigation costs) or to take the case through discovery, motion practice, and trial. It can also help counsel determine the potential value of the case by providing more efficiency and also yielding more accurate results than manual review processes. TAR is suitable for any type of case where there are too many documents for a human to properly consider.TAR History

As we know, TAR or predictive coding is a new way for reviewing legal documents these days. Traditionally, it was done manually by attorneys and paralegals. The study by?Anne Kershaw in 2005.?It provides electronic discovery survey data and testimony before the Federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee, determining the most efficient way to review documents.??Since then, attorneys are bringing in software technologies for reviewing documents in the legal profession. The retrieval techniques in legal research are used to search information, by TREC Legal Track System 2006.TAR 2.0In 2014, the next-generation?TAR 2.0?came into existence, which provided more accurate and faster results. In less than a decade, TAR has become a crucial litigation tool with its ability to review documents in no time.? Law firms were reluctant to embrace this technology due to fear of being rejected in the courts.Initially, law firms were reluctant to embrace this technology due to the fear of being rejected in the courts. But approval was given to TAR in 2012 by the Southern District of New York Magistrate Andrew Peck.? According to Thomson?Reuters, TAR's usage in eDiscovery is the new normal, with more than half of U.S. corporations using it in the past year. An eDiscovery, experts estimate that the?annual cost of document review exceeds $42.1 billion.?The introduction of TAR ended the cost of traditional discovery and increased access to the courts.?Perhaps the most compelling argument for using TAR in eDiscovery is cost reduction. Law firms only need to pay the initial costs for TAR implementation; the rest, the software cuts the rising cost of discovery and allows a law firm to stay ahead in the digital age.? How TAR Works?TAR 2.0 is a prioritization workflow in which reviewers often put human eyes on all relevant documents, instead of coding a small subset of documents by applying that learning large corpus of data.The set of coded documents are most likely to get the highest ranks. The TAR engine ranks the remaining coded set.

  • The reviewers then concentrate on the highest-ranked documents, re-ranking periodically based on newly completed coding and reprioritizing the reviewers’ document set.
  • The majority of the relevant documents are captured through an iterative process without diminishing returns.
  • To review and validate the process, elusion tests are conducted on the unreviewed population to met the desired goals.
  • TAR systems frequently update the data with the latest real-time information that lawyers can obtain in the most relevant documents, even as the case goes further differently
  • Cases that utilize a TAR 2.0 workflow often see an average reduction of 40–60 percent in the number of documents reviewers needs to review.
  • With data volumes constantly growing, using TAR 2.0 workflows will become even more important to keep document review efficient and cost-effective.

    The Importance of Document Review

One can define document review as a crucial part of e-discovery as an essential step to producing the final documents. It is the process under which an attorney comprehends the case assigned.However, with continuous development in technologies, legal professionals today have advanced analytics solutions to gain valuable insights before processing documents further for review.?
  • TAR Solutions?
TAR solutions usually include artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies to help legal professionals analyze large-size data sets. This can quickly identify and tag profoundly valuable documents.In conclusion, for document review, legal professionals are increasingly adopting TAR 2.0 as a preferred method to eliminate barriers to entry, hence user-friendly Solution.Cases that utilize a TAR 2.0 workflow often see an average reduction of 40–60 percent in the number of documents reviewers needs to be reviewed.
  1. Lower Turnaround Time
We all are aware of the digitization hype; the world is witnessing a sudden need to go digital for almost everything. But TAR has been in the legal sector for around a decade.?The study identified that the team of professionals reviewed 51% of the relevant documents, whereas the software reviewed 95%.Before that, paralegals or legal assistants used to manually review documents, spending long working hours for just this job.With TAR, law firms can check & process more documents taking less time, reducing the turnaround time (TAT) of further proceedings.
  1. Stronger Case
Early preparation of the information required strengthens the legal case on hand. Having verified facts on time is a tactical advantage for attorneys, helping them structure a strongly-founded case. For instance, having documents from previous court cases that you can use as a reference for your case. TAR systems frequently update the data with the latest real-time information that lawyers can obtain in the most relevant documents.
  1. Cost Savings
    • In general, the average cost of e-discovery is estimated according to the volume of data used. A civil case in the U.S. typically consumes around 130 GBs of data, or in other words, approximately 6.5 million pages. This vast data is usually collected from 10 – 15 custodians.?According to a Rand study, document review typically consumed 73% of all e-discovery production costs.?Source?TAR solutions not only review faster and boost efficiency but also help save costs. while it comes to reviewing a large number of documents accurately within a strict deadline at lower prices.?4. Litigation becomes Affordable Legal battles are time-taking for complete satisfaction without several instances despite civil disputes. However, with TAR, attorneys and law firms can now help their clients by preparing the case review. As TAR reduces the costs and time associated with document review, law firms can reduce litigation fees and still be in profit. The time is saved for better client servicing; on the other hand, the reduced cost of services can influence client satisfaction and retention.?5. Early Case Assessment??With TAR, litigators can evaluate critical points of a case, determining its value – the case should be taken further or not. It helps legal teams to build a detailed strategy in the initial phases of a dispute, ensuring the overall effectiveness of the case. All of this helps mitigate the client’s risks, avoid additional litigation expenses.?6. Assurance of Meeting Guidelines?If a business is involved in a legal dispute and fails to produce electronic data on time. It is more likely to pay thousands or millions of dollars in sanctions and fines. Need not to mention; this leads to loss of revenue and reputation in the market. You don’t want your clients to experience this; after all, it would be embarrassing to all.?TAR helps you ensure that you fulfill all the legal requirements by submitting the essential documents in court on or before the deadline. However, when your law firm’s staff is overburdened, you can opt for?litigation support services?to help them reduce their burden and focus on other, more strategic jobs. The Bottom Line?After considering all the factors discussed above, it is clear that TAR can help attorneys, law firms, and corporate legal departments. They considerably have lower costs, increase accuracy, and enhance the efficiency of the document review functions, impacting the complete e-discovery process.?This technology is inexpensive, due to which several firms in the sector offer affordable legal services. TAR will benefit small and medium-sized businesses and law firms. An old adage says Time is Money, TAR conceals it well. Adopting a TAR framework improves accuracy, and helps law firms reduce time-consuming human errors.
    About the Author

    I’ve been a writer for about 8 years, with special interests in small, medium enterprise/business-related topics.

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Author: Eliana Menon

Eliana Menon

Member since: Jan 27, 2021
Published articles: 1

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