Everlaw Empowers Freeths in High-Profile British Post Office Case
April 30 2024 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Everlaw Ediscovery Platform Plays Critical Role
in Pursuit of Justice for Defendants
Everlaw today announced Freeths, a leading full service law firm
in the UK, successfully leveraged the cutting-edge capabilities of
the Everlaw litigation and investigation platform to pursue justice
for its defendants in the landmark British Post Office Horizon
case.
Freeths managed the complex group action against the British
Post Office on behalf of hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and
postmistresses who were accused of theft, fraud and false
accounting due to a flawed computerised point-of-sale system. A new
TV series, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, brought this case to life,
and debuted on PBS Masterpiece in the U.S. this month. The
government public inquiry into the wrongdoings have resumed this
April.
James Hartley, partner and head of Dispute Resolutions at
Freeths, took a hands-on approach in the critical discovery process
and found the Everlaw platform instrumental in navigating through
extensive documentation and uncovering evidence crucial to the
case.
“Everlaw provided us with a strategic edge in winning the case,”
said Hartley. “Its intuitive features and robust functionality
enabled us to efficiently manage vast amounts of data and identify
key evidence essential to our strategy.”
The case presented significant challenges, with the opposition's
strategy aimed at inundating Freeths with discovery documents.
However, by partnering with Everlaw and using Elevate’s expert
services early in the case, Freeths was able to tackle this
head-on. Everlaw's visual document grouping capabilities proved
valuable in organising and reviewing the disclosure tranches, which
comprised hundreds of thousands of documents.
One of the standout features of Everlaw was its powerful search
functionality, allowing the Freeths team to sift through documents
to pinpoint crucial information, including board minutes, reports,
and technical documents. In a race against time, Everlaw
facilitated the review of last-minute documents received from the
opposition, ensuring that critical evidence, such as technical
documents highlighting computer system defects, known as KELs and
PEAKs, was promptly identified.
Together, the Freeths’ team and Elevate collaborated on
discovery review using the Everlaw platform. Elevate provided their
technical expertise and dedicated support to Hartley and his small
team so they could work effectively and efficiently on Everlaw
against a racing clock.
“The Everlaw platform was a secret weapon throughout this case,”
Hartley said. “Its ability to streamline collaboration and empower
us to work seamlessly, even in a paperless trial environment, was
unparalleled. Without Everlaw, navigating through the document
dumps would have been overwhelming.”
“The Post Office case underscores the pivotal role technology
plays in modern legal practice,” said Everlaw Founder and CEO AJ
Shankar. “Using Everlaw, Freeths and Elevate charted a straighter
path to the truth.”
Reflecting on Freeth’s experience, Hartley offered advice to
other legal professionals, urging them to leverage technology as a
strategic advantage. “Don't underestimate the efficiency and
effectiveness of technology,” he advised. “With the right tools,
even small teams can achieve remarkable results. Everlaw proved to
be a game-changer for us, and I would recommend it to anyone
navigating complex litigation.”
Background on the case is found here.
About Freeths
Freeths is a leading full-service UK law firm, with 1,200
colleagues and 13 offices. It’s trusted by leading household names
as well as charities, universities and private individuals to think
beyond the norm and get the best results. Freeths is The Times Best
Law Firms 2024 and consistently ranked in the top tier of the Legal
500 and Chambers guides.
About Everlaw
Everlaw helps legal teams navigate the increasingly complex
ediscovery landscape to chart a straighter path to the truth.
Trusted by Fortune 100 corporate counsel, 91 of the Am Law 200, and
all 50 state attorneys general, Everlaw's combination of intuitive
experience, advanced technology, and partnership with customers
empowers organisations to tackle the most pressing technological
challenges—and transform their approach to discovery and litigation
in the process. Founded in 2010 and based in Oakland, Calif.,
Everlaw is funded by top-tier investors, including Andreessen
Horowitz, CapitalG, HIG Growth Partners, K9 Ventures, Menlo
Ventures, and TPG Growth. Follow us on LinkedIn.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240430728348/en/
Colleen Haikes press@everlaw.com