[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-149856-en":3,"doc-seo-149856-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},149856,549768072016,"WPS_1786070896","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d",8,"Research & Report","Search Terms Are the Bane of My Existence - Cost Control in ESI Discovery","Electronic discovery workflows often begin with exchanging keyword search terms and applying them broadly across all media, but this approach can generate large volumes of false positives that are expensive to review and filter. The article analyzes a litigation example where unallocated disk space and an expansive, unbounded keyword list produced tens of millions of hits. It outlines court criteria for evaluating whether search terms are reasonable—scope, date limits, term specificity, operator use, and practical review feasibility—then recommends testing terms with hit reports before agreeing.","Technology: Search Terms Are the Bane of My Existence  \nReprinted with permission from the 01/20/2012 Edition of InsideCounsel. © 2012 ALM Media Properties, LLC. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.  \nBy David J. Walton  \nJanuary 20, 2012  \nWhen confronted with an electronically stored information (ESI) issue, the first thing lawyers do—almost reflexively—is exchange a list of search terms and apply them broadly against all types of media. Many judges use the same approach even though, conservatively, search terms result in 90 percent false positives. These false hits are very expensive to cull and review. Thus, a key to controlling ESI discovery costs is to use search terms carefully.  \nA great illustration is I-Med Pharma Inc. v. Biomatrix, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141614 (D. N.J. Dec. 9, 2011) . The key issue involved the use of unallocated space and search terms. Unallocated space is the area on the hard drive where “deleted” files are stored. Although there are files in this space, the computer sees the space as open and available.  \nAt the beginning of the case, the plaintiff agreed to an ESI protocol where the defendants were allowed to hire an expert to conduct a “forensic investigation” and keyword search of the plaintiff’s entire computer system, using more than 50 search terms. This search was not limited to specific custodians or time periods. In essence, it was a disaster waiting to happen. The unallocated space alone yielded an estimated 65 million hits, or 95 million pages of files.  \nFaced with reviewing million of documents for privilege and relevancy, the plaintiff sought relief from the court, even though it had agreed to the protocol and search term list. Fortunately for the plaintiff, the court modified the protocol so they did not have to produce data from the unallocated space, noting that even a cursory review of the information would mean copious  \namounts of time and millions of dollars. The court also recognized that the defendants did not show the likelihood that relevant and non-duplicative information was stored in the unallocated space.  \nFinally, the court addressed the proposed search terms and discussed five factors to consider when analyzing whether those terms were reasonable:  \nThe scope of documents searched and whether the search is restricted to specific computers, file systems, or document custodians  \nAny date restrictions imposed on the search  \nIf the search terms contain proper names, uncommon abbreviations, or other terms unlikely to occur in irrelevant documents  \nIf operators such as “and,” “not” or “near” are used to restrict the universe of possible results  \nIf the number of results obtained could be practically reviewed given the economics of the case and the amount of money at issue  \nThe moral of this story is clear: Never agree to collect and produce documents based on search terms unless you test the terms first to see how many potential hits there are. Many times I am asked to get involved in cases where search terms have already been agreed upon but no one has run the terms first to see how many hits the terms actually trigger. This is huge mistake.  \nAlthough predictive coding and concept searching are developing quickly and may one day replace search terms, for now, search terms are a necessary evil. Yet that doesn’t mean that you have to blindly agree to them. Test the terms first by running a hit report. Share the report with the other side. Work with your adversary to limit the scope for each term. Be creative, but never agree to terms with too many hits. This is one of the keys to controlling ESI costs.  \nAbout the Author  \nDave Walton  \nDave Walton is a member in Cozen O'Connor’s labor & employment practice group and co-chair of the firm's e-discovery taskforce. He has extensive experience in litigating matters involving restrictive covenants, trade secrets, fiduciary duties and defending employers targeted by [discrimination lawsuits. He can ","cbCaioLrTM7Mq3ly","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaioLrTM7Mq3ly","pdf",67080,1,2,"English","en",105,"# ESI discovery and the problem of broad search terms\n## Why false positives drive costs\n## Case example: unallocated space and keyword lists\n## Court factors for evaluating reasonable search terms\n## Practical guidance to control ESI discovery expenses","[{\"question\":\"Why do broadly applied search terms create major ESI cost problems?\",\"answer\":\"Conservatively chosen search terms can produce about 90% false positives. These false hits require costly review and culling before privileged or relevant material can be identified.\"},{\"question\":\"What went wrong in I-Med Pharma v. Biomatrix regarding search and data scope?\",\"answer\":\"The protocol allowed a forensic expert to run more than 50 search terms across the entire computer system without limiting custodians or time periods. Unallocated disk space contributed an estimated 65 million hits (around 95 million pages), overwhelming document review.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors does the court consider when determining whether search terms are reasonable?\",\"answer\":\"The court discussed five factors: search scope and restrictions to specific systems/custodians, any date restrictions, whether terms include proper names or uncommon abbreviations, whether operators like and/not/near narrow results, and whether the output is practically reviewable given case economics.\"}]","Search Terms Are the Bane of My Existence - Cost Control in ESI Discovery | PDF",1787808490,5,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"search-terms-are-the-bane-of-my-existence-cost-control-in-esi-discovery","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,53,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,47,50],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/search-terms-are-the-bane-of-my-existence-cost-control-in-esi-discovery/149856/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":41,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-04","2026-08-27",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"Why do broadly applied search terms create major ESI cost problems?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"Conservatively chosen search terms can produce about 90% false positives. These false hits require costly review and culling before privileged or relevant material can be identified.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"What went wrong in I-Med Pharma v. Biomatrix regarding search and data scope?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"The protocol allowed a forensic expert to run more than 50 search terms across the entire computer system without limiting custodians or time periods. Unallocated disk space contributed an estimated 65 million hits (around 95 million pages), overwhelming document review.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What factors does the court consider when determining whether search terms are reasonable?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"The court discussed five factors: search scope and restrictions to specific systems/custodians, any date restrictions, whether terms include proper names or uncommon abbreviations, whether operators like and/not/near narrow results, and whether the output is practically reviewable given case economics.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,105,109,114,119,122,127,130,134],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},30,"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":29,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]