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Team Salient goes from strength to strength

2023 has been a busy year for the Salient team. Our clients have kept us on our toes, finding new and unusual ways to put our data-smithing skills to the test. We’re pleased to report that our team has risen to the challenge, time and time again. Here are a few highlights that we’re particularly proud of. 

2023 Project Highlights 

The laptop scramble 

One of the more unusual challenges we were tasked with this year was the collection, forensic imaging and validation of more than 50 laptops and a number of desktop computers holding a total of over 35TB of data in just 2.5 days. Chain of custody and forensically sound and defensible actions were essential, as the data formed part of an extremely sensitive ongoing investigation being run by our client (a leading African law firm).  

Our team quickly realised that an onsite approach would be the most secure and expedient option. We set up a processing laboratory at the client site, with separate areas for receipt/return of the computers from/to their owners. Access to the forensic environment was strictly limited to our team, who followed rigorous precautions to protect chain of custody and gather evidence in accordance with forensic investigation protocols. 

We successfully processed the machines in question within the 2.5-day deadline, working through the night, on backup power when necessary to circumvent national power outages. We then processed, de-NISTed, deduplicated and identified initial custodians from the client’s priority list within a week, reducing data volumes under review to between 2% and 5% of their original volume, and provided a first-pass report to the law firm. 

All in a week (or so)’s work for the Salient team! 

The visualisation revelation 

This challenge involved pinpointing connections between 10,000 interrelated entities held in multiple spreadsheets to help investigate fraudulent activities and establish key players.  

Our team pushed the innovation envelope by developing a custom visual model for the client in PowerBI. This turned the otherwise overwhelming number of spreadsheets, with vast quantities of data drawn from numerous sources, into a birds-eye-view representation of the entire complex network.  

The model also included self-service navigation with powerful drill-down capabilities, enabling investigators to focus in on a single individual, company or entity, and map their connections with another chosen node. This allowed them to explore relationships and dig deeper into the data to reveal previously hidden connections and participants, successfully unravelling the deliberately circuitous pathways in record time. 

The PDF production plan 

In this challenge, our team was asked to assist our clients in navigating a single, massive PDF file of amalgamated evidence presented by opposing counsel. To make things more challenging, the PDF included copies of handwritten documents, and Bates reference numbers in non-uniform page locations, occasionally interrupted by reference numbers from previous productions. 

Needless to say, reviewing, cross-referencing and navigating the contents of this PDF, as is, would be prohibitively time consuming and inefficient.  

Instead, we leveraged our data-smithing skills to build a custom program to split the file into easily searchable, single-page PDFs, all navigable using sequentially Bates-number-referenced files. This was achieved using advanced AI and Optical Character Recognition to convert hand-written documents into searchable digital files and accurately identify Bates sequencing, saving our clients countless hours of valuable review time. 

What’s in store for 2024? 

As data volumes continue to increase exponentially, the work of investigators and lawyers is getting more and more complex. As a result, in addition to demands for traditional eDiscovery platform and processing services, we expect to see increased demand for our team to apply their skills and experience at the heart of our client’s challenges to drive the most efficient outcomes. 

We’re looking forward to greater involvement in the early stages of investigations, and the opportunity to combine our knowledge, experience and analytical skills to bring new insights to our clients’ challenges and technology use. Our ultimate goal remains finding innovative ways to defensibly manage data volumes and keep costs in check, while helping our clients get more from the cutting-edge tools and technology available. 

Our team is growing 

We’re also excited to be expanding and strengthening our client-facing domain expertise with two new members joining our team from forensic accounting backgrounds.  

Their accounting, auditing and investigative skills will greatly enhance our ability to rapidly understand our clients’ business and investigatory requirements, enabling us to build fact patterns faster, and bring case insights to light even earlier in the process. 

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We’ll be putting these enhanced capabilities to the test in the new year, with the aim of delivering even more value in every engagement we undertake. As always, we’ll keep you updated on our activities in our monthly newsletter on LinkedIn. Scan this QR code to subscribe: