Forensic Technology and Discovery - Ernst & Young - United States

Managing electronic documents in connection with investigations and complex disputes has never been fraught with so much risk. When it needs to be done right and right now, you need help from those who have been there.

• Create a plan for and manage the process of preserving hard drives, tapes and digital evidence in accordance with legal guidelines and rules of evidence
• Find and collect electronic data wherever it may be
• Analyze the evidence to locate, identify, and extract information of evidentiary value to the investigation or conflict

Evaluate what you have. Finding the documents you need is just the first step. Knowing where they are does no good if you can’t efficiently review them in time to meet the needs of the investigation or the claim at hand. Our team compiles evidence into a database searchable by investigators and lawyers around the world. We also maintain the data and assist in constructing searches to help you find what you need when you need it.

In addition, our solutions are fully scalable to meet the demands of investigators and counsel. We are able to share large databases globally over the internet or we can accommodate small teams working in isolated locations when security or data privacy concerns exist.

Reconstruct data to investigate claims. Electronic data is not only used in gathering evidence. We also use electronic data in the course of an investigation to reconstruct databases or financial systems and rebuild a company’s financial statements as we search for evidence of fraud. Data mining is invaluable in establishing what happened and whether anything is amiss. Our professionals have years of experience in doing just that.

Case studies

Global evidence review. We collected data from each location involved in an internal investigation of allegations of vendor fraud and revenue recognition concerns in five countries. We then identified the people of interest, preserved all electronic data, processed it and loaded it into a centralized system that allowed for simultaneous review by investigators in the US, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei. We were able to gather evidence so that the company could take action against those involved.

Discovery services. Our client, a European multinational corporation, faced multiple overlapping data preservation requirements stemming from several US legal and regulatory issues. These issues included an SEC investigation, several state regulatory investigations and class-action litigation. We developed and managed the electronic data preservation process for email, electronic documents and financial data. Further, we implemented the data preservation plan for multiple entities in more than 50 countries. Our global team of professionals and scalable systems allowed us to efficiently manage the process of preserving information and, when necessary due to local laws or security concerns, to facilitate local review and analysis of that information.

Records management program. A technology company retained us to implement a consistent, defensible and sustainable electronic records management program. We compared the current program with industry standards and best practices. Based on that study, we developed the future-state program and road map to include roles and responsibilities, governance, priorities and policies and procedures. The engagement involved the selection of technology to manage electronic communications and electronic records, as well as business processes and policies to help comply with retention requirements.

Discovery services. We assisted a global manufacturing company with its electronic preservation plan in response to class-action litigation. Working with counsel, we helped design an approach to identify potentially relevant data. This involved mapping more than 400 "key individuals" to their historic, current, and prospective global data sources so the information could be preserved. We also were able to help the client effectively manage a massive electronic data collection effort and to facilitate counsel's review of relevant documents.

Global evidence review. A global shipping company hired us to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding recent financial restatements, to evaluate the remedial measures taken by the company, and to investigate disclosure issues and insider trading activities of the company's top executives. We gathered a multinational team to interview and obtain computer forensic data from the company's finance and accounting executives in the UK, Canada, the U.S., and Asia. In addition, we extracted and processed e-mail and data from laptop computers and servers located around the world. Our GEFRi file review tool allowed for review of electronic data by teams working simultaneously in multiple countries. We presented our findings to the board, regulators, and the company's external auditors.