eDiscovery and Structured Data

by Gary M. Zeiss, Esq.

In a recent article in Inside Counsel, the issue of "structured data" was discussed. Structured data is nothing more than the data contained in corporate databases - sometimes proprietary, sometimes contained in a purchased system. Contained in these systems is the data that is the lifeblood of many corporations, particularly those in the financial services markets.

These systems are used for everything from retention of financial records to automatic approval of insurance claims and, yes, consumer loans and mortgages. With the current credit crisis, and the fallout in the public markets, one can expect an increase in demands for discovery of this information. No doubt, corporations will try to stem this tide, but with business rules and patterns codified in these systems, and with those business rules being at the crux of the credit crisis, a sea change is likely to occur.

Now, here is where it gets really interesting. Outsourcers, particularly those in India, have spent years doing back-office work on these very same systems. These engineers and technologists have deep backgrounds in the rule creation mechanisms of many of these systems (including many proprietary ones). Combining these engineers and technologists with Indian legal process outsourcers, this information may prove easier than expected to conduct eDiscovery on.

What could be found? Business rules that violate law and regulation, systematic denial of credit and insurance claims, "redlining," and other actions that have been regulated, but are very difficult to collect evidence against.

By outsourcing the system development to low-cost Asian providers, corporations have developed, independent from them, the expertise necessary to parse through business rules - both to assist them in developing better rules, and to assist those seeking to prosecute them for regulatory or legal wrongs. All at a bargain cost. In this current economic environment, the ability to cheaply analyze these records could prove to be a boon to plaintiff's attorneys and Indian legal process outsourcers.


Gary M. Zeiss, Esq. operates a law practice in Southern California focused on outsourcing, licensing and technology. Mr. Zeiss is an incoming member of the executive committee of the Law Practice Management and Technology section of the State Bar of California.