In internal investigations and across substantive areas of litigation, we have encountered a new and unmistakable reality—data is not a loose collection of independent things like documents, devices or accounts; Data is a System. In the corporate environment, “data” is a real-time intersection of user and enterprise devices and accounts (phones, tablets, email, chat platforms) with network devices (firewalls and servers, even printers and polycoms), run by myriad software and applications (that themselves create voluminous data sets), all managed by a group of human beings (often, IT) with whom many businesses do not effectively interact. As with any complex system (like modern-day physicians and the human body), when it matters most, corporate data requires a team of experts to understand and analyze.
And a team, it turns out, is what you need. A recent investigation Flatwater undertook for an enterprise client demonstrates this new reality. Sparing the confidential details, the basic premise was a familiar refrain—a client concerned about possible missing sets of emails and related documents. What sounds simple in this setting often becomes complex. To wit, Flatwater coordinated the following efforts in the ensuing investigation:
- Acquired, preserved, processed and analyzed over 4 million documents
- Used AI techniques to quickly cull the data set and permit targeted review of data
- Designed and employed proprietary software to find gaps in email data
- Mapped a vast corporate network on a hunt for missing “unicorn” hard drives
- Led the on-the-ground human intelligence-gathering effort in multiple locations
In a matter of under six weeks, a team at Flatwater marshaled each of these efforts. The client did not have to hire, manage or pay four separate vendors that lack experience working together. Instead, Flatwater designed and managed the entire plan for the client; aggregated the results of these efforts; and provided direct, real-time intelligence to the client, which ultimately forestalled a much lengthier and more expensive investigation and a multi-million-dollar lawsuit. Speed. Precision. Value. Flatwater’s team renders the turbulent sea of digital evidence navigable. To learn more about Flatwater Forensics and the ClariLegal preferred vendor management platform, visit flatwaterforensics.com and clarilegal.com.
