From Terabytes to Timelines: How GCs Can Gain Control of Cross-Border Data

The pressure on general counsel

In-house lawyers often work in and on the business. The goal is often protecting the organization, as well as providing quick and defensible insights on myriad issues, from regulatory to high-stakes disputes.  So, what challenges are persistent, and what issues are on the rise?

• Cross-border investigations and disputes are no longer a rarity.
• Data volumes continue to rise, and their composition is becoming more complex, including multi-lingual content and varied types of data, not just documents.
• Deadlines, anecdotally, are shrinking in some jurisdictions. Even where they remain static, the amount of data to consider, as well as its growing complexity still adds pressure to timescales.

Global data: the new reality

Data is no longer bound to the physical devices on which they reside. Offices and server rooms in the United Kingdom or Chicago look very different than even ten years ago.  Cloud-based infrastructure, chat applications (including unsanctioned or unmanaged apps like WhatsApp), collaboration tools such as Trello, Asana, Slack, among many others, have transformed the landscape. Data is amorphous and scattered across packet highways that do not necessarily adhere to the data protection laws and expectations of all regions. This is not a novel concept, yet it resurfaces repeatedly as a tension between compliance and necessary access. For example, there may be a court order in an American jurisdiction that requires access to relevant data, while the user-custodians are located in Great Britain. This is a common scenario that is now well tested and handled; however, data protection rights attach to individuals, creating friction between the “so ordered” reality and an equally valid reality of rights on the other end.

The squeeze

Which regulator expects the fastest replies? Is it the SEC, SFO, or the CMA?  The truth is all of them. Delay is no longer tolerated. Courts want speed. Boards want answers. And linear review simply cannot keep up.

Defensible speed

Tools have been added to the workflow to help maintain this pace. “AI, AI, AI, AI” –there, it’s been said.  Machine learning (ML) and similar capabilities enable the rapid reduction of extraneous noise in data and documents. The massive increase in data volumes does not always correspond to a proportional rise in relevance.

What can technology do?

• Traditional: Reduce data volumes by identifying duplicates of all types.
• Traditional: Filter data by type, excluding items that are not of potential relevance.
• Traditional: Run search queries against the text of documents and data.
• Modern: Leverage machine learning to enable document scoring and prioritization  using Technology Assisted Review and Computer Assisted Learning, (TAR/CAL).
• Modern: Extract entities without foreknowledge, such as names, national insurance numbers, addresses, and other identifiers.
• Evolving: AI-powered solutions can surface likely relevant information much faster.  These tools do not replace document reviews for lawyers but assist in Rapid Fact Development, pointing case teams towards the most critical issues.

iDiscovery Solutions (iDS) has an international partnership with Nuix (ASX: NXL), which allows the firm to scale while maintaining these insights from the start. Deploying Nuix and its toolkits across global regions, notably in the U.S. and Europe, enables minimal delay in implementing a full datacenter-style solution, while ensuring compliance with regional laws and standards.

How does this benefit general counsel?

Engaging consultants who use the right technology enables:

1. Faster clarity, allowing boards and executives to make informed decisions.
2. Inoculation against regulatory or judicial scrutiny by leveraging defensible processes.
3. Greater efficiency for all stakeholders, for example, reducing the time needed for external lawyer reviews.

Future-proofing the general counsel’s playbook

1. GCs need partners who can balance speed, global reach, and defensibility, while  providing expert evidence and testifying when required. Finding partners who speak more than one language is also an advantage.
2. iDS, alongside Nuix, helps GCs shift away from viewing data as a burden to seeing data as a strategic advantage.
3. Challenge your organization to improve: future-proof your legal strategy by aligning data discovery with the realities of global data and compressed timelines.

How GCs can turn global data into strategic advantage

The modern general counsel is under pressure like never before. Data volumes are exploding, cross-border complexity is the norm, and deadlines are shrinking. Traditional review methods just can’t keep up. By harnessing AI, machine learning, and the right expert partners, GCs can move from reactive to proactive, turning data from a burden into a strategic asset. Organizations that act now, aligning data discovery with compliance, efficiency, and defensibility, will be the ones making faster, smarter decisions while protecting their companies in an increasingly complex global landscape.

iDS provides consultative data solutions to corporations and law firms around the world, giving them a decisive advantage – both in and out of the courtroom. iDS’s subject matter experts and data strategists specialize in finding solutions to complex data problems, ensuring data can be leveraged as an asset, not a liability. To learn more, visit iDSinc.com.