e-Discovery Review and Concept Search
Conceptual Search
Conceptual search, integrated with Fios Prevail® and Relativity® powered by Fios, is an advanced search technique that virtually "reads" or derives meaning from every document it indexes. It identifies concepts instead of tags or keywords. It employs mathematics to analyze the entire body of electronic evidence under review, using that information to locate the documents and data that match the concept the reviewer specifies.
Conceptual search greatly improves the efficacy of review by reducing the number of "false positives." For example, a legal team may want all documents about a financial institution typically referred to as a "bank." However, they do not want results in which "bank" means the area along a river or the way a plane turns in the air, nor do they want results containing a figurative expression like "you can bank on that." At the same time, reviewers may be looking for documents that do not use the word "bank" at all but discuss the concept of a bank (i.e., a financial institution). Conceptual search accounts for abbreviations, alternate definitions, idiomatic usage, slang, misspellings and the many ways language morphs and changes over time. Fios' conceptual search will identify and display the documents matching the concept the legal team is searching for.
Conceptual searches are executed by entering in the search field a few descriptive sentences, a discovery request or a representative document. The system uses that information to find documents that match the specified concept, not just a set of individual keywords. It filters out the "noise" of irrelevant results, and ensures that key information that could make or break a case is not missed.
Because conceptual searching utilizes a repeatable mathematical process, it's unbiased and defensible, ensuring reviewers find information that might be missed using a keyword search alone. While the use of this technology is still relatively new in legal discovery, it has been employed for more than 10 years in the U.S. intelligence community and by a variety of government agencies to sift through massive amounts of information and locate specific concepts in a short amount of time.
Conceptual search benefits:
Save time: Face the "tsunami" of electronic evidence typical in today's legal matters by quickly finding relevant documents to meet tight review deadlines. Reduce the reliance on mastering advanced Boolean search techniques or developing long lists of keywords and keyword variations.
Reduce review costs: Focus review efforts on the most relevant documents first and filter out poor results to cut down on the volume of evidence that requires detailed review, ensuring the review process is both efficient and effective.
Improve the quality of search results: Significantly reduce the number of irrelevant documents typically found using keyword search alone, and ensure critical documents that may not include search terms aren't missed.
Early evidence assessment: Use concept search to assess evidence prior to the formal discovery period to quickly identify relevant and/or privileged documents that need review early on. Additionally, concept search is ideal to help develop a list of keywords and keyword variations related to the most important concepts to the matter.
Need help now for an active matter? Contact us.