SEARCH TERM HIT COUNTS IN AN ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY SYSTEM

• US 20100250512A1
• Filed: 03/24/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Mayer, Michael J., Richards, Phillip L., Miller, Emerson D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,171,310 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/325 Hash tables
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate to systems, methods, and computer program products for improved electronic discovery. More specifically, embodiments relate to managing the process for creating search term sets to be applied to electronic data sets associated with a case in an electronic discovery system. A search term management application is provided that allows for multiple users to work collaboratively to define the final search term set that is subsequently applied to the corpus of electronic data for the case. In addition, the application provides for tracking the overall search term creation process. In addition, embodiments provide for a search term hit count engine that is configured to determine search term hit counts for data as a means of predicting the volume of data needed to review.

Claims

1. A method for determining search term hit counts in an electronic discovery system, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, inputs that provide for a search term set that includes a plurality of search terms, wherein the search term set is associated with a case in the electronic discovery system;

determining, via a computing device processor, a plurality of search term hit counts by applying the search term set to an electronic data set, wherein the search term hit counts include a per data type hit count for one or more data types in the electronic data set; and

storing, in computing device memory, the plurality of search term hit counts.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining further comprises determining, via the computing device processor, the per data type hit count, wherein the data types include electronic mail (email) and electronic file (e-file).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining further comprises determining, via the computing device processor, the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including per data type hit counts for each of the plurality of search terms.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining further comprises determining, via the computing device processor, the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including a per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining further comprises determining, via the computing device processor, the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case and for each of the plurality of search terms.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein determining further comprises determining, via the computing device processor, the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case and for each of the one or more data types.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein determining further comprises determining, via the computing device processor, the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case, for each of the plurality of search terms and for each of the one or more data types.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining further comprises determining, via the computing device processor a file size associated with each of the plurality of search term hit counts and storing further comprises storing, in the computing device memory, the file size associated with each of the plurality of search term hit counts.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, at a computing device, an input that finalizes the search term set after determining the plurality of search term hit counts.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein storing, further comprises storing, at the computing device memory, one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts in an associated custodian profile within the electronic discovery system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein storing, further comprises storing, at the computing device memory, one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts in an associated search term file within the electronic discovery system.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying, at a computing device, one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts to one or more additional cases in which the electronic data set and at least one of a search term or a custodian are common between the case and the additional case.

13. An apparatus for determining search term hit counts in an electronic discovery system, the apparatus comprising:

a computing platform including at least one processor and a memory; and

a search term hit count engine stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configured to receive a search term set that includes a plurality of search terms, determine a plurality of search term hit counts by applying the search term set to an electronic data set associated with a case and store the plurality of search term hit counts in memory, wherein the search term hit counts include a per data type hit count for one or more data types in the electronic data set.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to determine the per data type hit count, wherein the data types include electronic mail (email) and electronic file (e-file).

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including per data type hit counts for each of the plurality of search terms.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including a per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case and for each of the plurality of search terms.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case and for each of the one or more data types.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case, for each of the plurality of search terms and for each of the one or more data types.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to determine a file size associated with each of the plurality of search term hit counts and store the file size associated with each of the plurality of search term hit counts in the memory.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a search term management application stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configured to receive an input that finalizes the search term set after determining the plurality of search term hit counts.

22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to store one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts in an associated custodian profile within the electronic discovery system.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the search term hit count engine is further configured to store one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts in an associated search term file within the electronic discovery system.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a search term management application stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configured to apply one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts to one or more additional cases in which the electronic data set and at least one of a search term or a custodian are common between the case and the additional case.

25. A computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

a first set of codes for causing a computer to receive inputs that provide for a search term set that includes a plurality of search terms, wherein the search term set is associated with a case in the electronic discovery system;

a second set of codes for causing a computer to determine a plurality of search term hit counts by applying the search term set to an electronic data set, wherein the search term hit counts include a per data type hit count for one or more data types in the electronic data set; and

a third set of codes for causing a computer to store the plurality of search term hit counts.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine the per data type hit count, wherein the data types include electronic mail (email) and electronic file (e-file).

27. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including per data type hit counts for each of the plurality of search terms.

28. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including a per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case and for each of the plurality of search terms.

30. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case and for each of the one or more data types.

31. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine the plurality of search term hit counts associated with the electronic data set including the per custodian search term hit count for each custodian associated with the case, for each of the plurality of search terms and for each of the one or more data types.

32. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine a file size associated with each of the plurality of search term hit counts.

33. The computer program product of claim 25, further comprising a fourth set of codes for causing a computer to receive an input that finalizes the search term set after determining the plurality of search term hit counts.

34. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the third set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to store one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts in an associated custodian profile within the electronic discovery system.

35. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the third set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to store one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts in an associated search term file within the electronic discovery system.

36. The computer program product of claim 25, further comprising a fourth set of codes for causing a computer to apply one or more of the plurality of search term hit counts to one or more additional cases in which the electronic data set and at least one of a search term or a custodian are common between the case and the additional case.