AOL to manage e-discovery with a single system

As part of a plan to improve its e-discovery efficiency and reduce external spending, AOL has expanded its deployment of software from Exterro. AOL implemented Exterro Legal Hold in 2013 and is now adding Exterro E-Discovery Data Management with Managed Review, Exterro Compliance Portal and Exterro SharePoint connector.

Jeff Novak, AOL's chief counsel of litigation and compliance and VP of state public policy, says, “Our risk profile has become much more complex over the years. We're no longer just an Internet service provider. We now have dozens of subsidiaries across the country and overseas, which have brought distinct litigation and compliance risks, new technologies and different operating cultures that we've had to learn to navigate. Tighter legal budgets and an upward trend in e-discovery spending have required us to take a fresh look at our approach to e-discovery and the technology we use to manage it.”

AOL adopted Exterro Legal Hold as part of an initiative to automate its e-discovery processes and enable its legal team to programmatically manage the company's preservation obligations. Expanding on that initiative, AOL is bringing more of its e-discovery process in-house.

Exterro reports that Exterro E-Discovery Data Management with Managed Review will enable AOL to conduct early case assessments, collections, analysis, review and productions internally to better assess matter issues, size and resource requirements much earlier in the discovery process.

Exterro Compliance Portal will help improve custodian compliance with legal hold requests. It consolidates employees' hold obligations and interview requests and allows them to be viewed on their PCs or from their smart phones, tablets and other personal devices.

Exterro SharePoint Connector will allow AOL to integrate Exterro E-Discovery Data Management with SharePoint to ensure rapid access to custodian information, according to Exterro.

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