Processing Is Evidence Handling
ESI processing is often described as cleanup, but it is evidence handling. The data may be unpacked, indexed, OCRed, deduplicated, filtered, converted, normalized, or loaded into a review platform. Each step can affect what counsel sees and how later production decisions are made.
PowellPath treats processing as a documented workflow. The source set should be preserved. Working copies should be separated. Filters and exclusions should be recorded. Exceptions should be reported rather than silently dropped.
Deduplication Needs a Rule Set
Deduplication can reduce review volume substantially, but the method matters. Exact hash-based deduplication is different from near-duplicate review. Global deduplication is different from custodian-level deduplication. Email families raise additional questions because attachments, threads, and parent-child relationships may need to stay together.
Counsel should know which deduplication rules were applied and whether duplicate custodian information was preserved. If duplicate records are removed without tracking where they came from, the review set may become easier to read but harder to explain.
Filtering Should Be Traceable
Date filters, file-type filters, keyword filters, custodian filters, de-NISTing, domain exclusions, system-file exclusions, and size filters can all be appropriate. They can also remove important records if they are applied too broadly or without counsel approval.
A defensible process records the filter, the reason for it, the volume affected, and whether the excluded material can be restored if needed. The goal is proportionality with a record, not blind reduction.
Exception Reports Are Not Administrative Details
Password-protected files, corrupt archives, unsupported file types, missing attachments, failed OCR, oversized files, encrypted containers, and broken links can all matter. An exception report tells counsel what the review set does not contain or could not process cleanly.
Those exceptions should be reviewed in light of the case. A failed family-photo file may not matter. A password-protected spreadsheet from a key custodian may matter a great deal. The report should give counsel enough information to decide.
What the Workflow Documents
- Source volume, file counts, custodian counts, and collection boundaries.
- Hash values, deduplication method, duplicate tracking, and family handling.
- De-NISTing, system-file exclusions, date filters, search filters, and file-type filters.
- Metadata fields preserved, normalized, or unavailable.
- OCR, text extraction, native-file handling, image conversion, and load-file preparation.
- Processing exceptions, password issues, corrupt files, and follow-up decisions.
What Counsel Receives
Deliverables may include a processed review set, deduplication report, filtering report, exception report, metadata table, review-load package, or volume-reduction summary. The work is designed to help counsel reduce noise while keeping the process explainable.