Anna Fry and Mark de Bruyn combine the twin disciplines of law and IT. Anna is a lawyer who practised in insurance and commercial litigation before beginning her career as a legal technology consultant with the Australian Government Solicitor in 2003. Mark has a technical background and has held a number of IT management roles in both the public and private sectors. More recently the pair worked together as Senior Analysts in the Evidence Services group at the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

Anna Fry and Mark de Bruyn are the newest faces on the ediscovery scene in Australia with their new venture, NuLegal, taking on established players in the litigation support market. 

IDM: Why have you established NuLegal and where do you see the opportunities emerging in Australia?
AF: There have been some big changes in the litigation support industry in recent times which we believe opens the door for a new service provider. The need for ediscovery services is continuing to grow and we think there is a need for some healthy competition to ensure that pricing remains competitive, while quality and efficiency improves.

MB: In Australia at the moment, there is a strong focus on reducing the time and cost of ediscovery particularly at the document review stage. This means there will be significant opportunities for players who can provide technology solutions to assist this process, as well as partner with their clients (rather than simply processing documents on their behalf) to manage ediscovery more efficiently.

IDM: What are the services and expertise you will be offer-ing?
MB: NuLegal will offer the complete range of legal technology services including scanning, objective coding, electronic document processing, case management, electronic trial solutions, as well as project management and consulting services.

AF: We have significant experience and expertise that extends from managing large scale discovery and disclosure projects, to designing and implementing electronic trials.

IDM: How do you see NuLegal fitting within the evolving ediscovery landscape in Australia?
AF: The ediscovery landscape in Australia has already evolved significantly from the days of collecting electronic files, converting them all to Tiff or PDF and reviewing them one by one. The landscape is likely to change even further with the Australian Law Reform Commission currently reviewing the discovery laws in the Federal system including looking at ways ‘to reduce the expense of discovery’, ‘ensure key documents relevant to the real issues in dispute are identified as early as possible,’ and reviewing ‘the impact of technology on the discovery of documents’.

MB: NuLegal’s focus will be on providing technology solutions that increase efficiency. This includes smart culling and sorting techniques (that result in less documents needing to be reviewed and the most relevant documents being reviewed first), as well as consulting services that small and mid-tier firms can draw upon to navigate the many legal and IT issues associated with discovery.

IDM: Are you pursuing any particular technology platforms or will you be taking advantage of emerging "cloud" capability?
MB: We have strategic partnerships with a number of leading technology vendors, including qCat for document delimiting and objective coding, and eDiscovery Tools for our electronic discovery solution. Cloud computing is something we will be keeping a keen eye on to see how it can benefit our clients. Saying that, there is still a lot of apprehension regarding the security and potential cross-border issues of this technology, and we will only use it where appropriate and with full disclosure to our clients. In terms of how it can be used in our industry, cloud technology being dynamically scalable, robust, accessible and cost effective, makes it a great candidate to handle large legal review projects that often have multiple lawyers spanning different cities, states or countries.

IDM: Is there an opportunity to provide consulting expertise to mid-tier firms that are looking to manage aspects of the ediscovery process directly to reduce legal costs?
AF: Definitely. Since the introduction of practice notes such as the Federal Court’s CM 6 -Electronic Technology in Litigation, many small and mid-tier firms are now beginning to look more closely at the technology and processes involved in electronic discovery. In some cases, that extends to managing the process directly in-house. It is essential however, that they have the appropriate experience and expertise available. NuLegal can help by providing consulting services to assist with establishing an ediscovery team, or advising on a case by case basis.

IDM: Will you be able to assist organisations with all steps of the ediscovery process, or focus on particular areas?
MB: Our focus will initially be on the processing, review and production stages of the ediscovery process. As our company grows, we will consider moving into the computer forensics market but in the meantime we can certainly provide advice to assist law firms engage the appropriate experts or manage that process.