EDRM Projects Advance E-Discovery Industry Standards

Jan. 24, 2012 - PRLog -- ST. PAUL, MN & NEW YORK – January 24, 2012 – The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), the leading standards organization for the e-discovery market, today provided formal updates from four of the EDRM projects. EDRM provides a common, flexible and extensible framework for the development, selection, evaluation and use of e-discovery products and services. The advancements in each of the following projects are designed to further standardize the principles and practices utilized in e-discovery management as follows:

•   Data Set – The EDRM Enron Email Data Set v2 is now a public data set on Amazon Web Services. AWS hosts these public data sets at no charge to the community in order to enable faster innovation by researchers across a variety of disciplines and industries. For more information about AWS public data sets, go to http://aws.amazon.com/publicdatasets.

•   Information Governance Reference Model (IGRM) – The IGRM project team and ARMA International recently published a jointly developed white paper entitled, How the Information Governance Reference Model (IGRM) Complements ARMA International’s Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (GARP). This white paper emphasizes both the importance of good governance to an organization, as well as the necessity of cross-functional collaboration in order to reduce legal risk and raise business performance. To view the ARMA-EDRM information governance white paper and download a copy, go to http://www.edrm.net/7596.

•   Metrics - The primary goal of the Metrics project has been to provide an effective means of measuring the time, money and volumes associated with e-discovery activities. The Metrics team has created and tested a database designed to capture and compile data gathered from actual case experience to identify trends and metrics associated with different phases of e-discovery.  With the goal of capturing a wide range of data for accurate sampling, the Metrics team is calling for strong participation from the legal community at large.  More information about the Metrics Project can be found at http://www.edrm.net/projects/metrics.

•   Model Code of Conduct – EDRM has published the official Model Code of Conduct (MCoC) which sets forth ethical guidelines for business conduct between the providers of e-discovery services, software and other products, their clients and other providers. The MCoC is designed to promote predictability and stability in the legal industry for both providers and consumers of electronic discovery products and services. It reflects years of exhaustive dialogue and a wide array of viewpoints, including corporations, law firms and service providers. Corporations and service providers, including consultants, vendors, service bureaus, software companies and law firms, can voluntarily subscribe to the MCoC by registering on the EDRM website at http://www.edrm.net/projects/mcoc.

•   XML – EDRM announces the release of version 2.0 of the EDRM XML schema, a specification designed to reduce time and risk involved with data exchange between parties and systems. The XML 2.0 schema also provides a more flexible format for transferring additional information. This structure will allow for future extensions to the schema to include Productions, Review Data, Search Information, etc. The most significant addition is the field manifest at the top of the schema. The XML 2.0 schema also provides a more flexible format for transferring productions, documents and searches. To download the new schema, go to http://www.edrm.net/projects/xml/2-0-schema.

“The EDRM mission has always been to establish guidelines and industry best practices that make it easier and more cost effective for both the consumers and providers of electronic discovery products and services,” said both Tom Gelbmann and George Socha, co-founders of the EDRM. “The involvement and dedication to these projects by the EDRM members is a testament of the importance and need for greater standardization in the industry by all parties. We look forward to extending and growing this involvement in the year to come.”

More information on each of the EDRM projects and their materials is available at http://edrm.net.

About EDRM
Launched in May 2005, EDRM was created to address the lack of standards and guidelines in the e-discovery market – a problem identified in the 2003 and 2004 Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery surveys as a major concern for vendors and consumers alike. The completed reference model provides a common, flexible and extensible framework for the development, selection, evaluation and use of e-discovery products and services. Expanding on the base defined with the Reference Model, EDRM now includes nine projects including the Information Governance Reference Model project. Since 2005, EDRM has comprised more than 230 organizations, including 150 service and software providers, 57 law firms, three industry groups and 22 corporations involved with e-discovery. Information about EDRM is available at http://www.edrm.net.

Contacts:

Tom Gelbmann         George Socha
EDRM, LLC               EDRM, LLC
tom@edrm.net         george@edrm.net
(651) 483-0022         (651) 690-1739