Systems and methods for electronic document review

Abstract

Systems and methods enable convenient and accurate searching, filtering, reviewing, and classification of electronic documents without the loss of metadata. A communication data source file is parsed into conversation-specific files that include message content and metadata. The message content and metadata are displayed on a computing device operated by a reviewer. To streamline the review process, the reviewer can filter display of the message content according to various metadata categories as well as search conversation-specific files using the metadata categories.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method of electronic document review comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a computing device associated with a reviewer;   (b) providing a computing device associated with an electronic discovery system;   (c) parsing by the discovery computing device, a source file into one or more conversation-specific files, the conversation-specific files comprising message content and a first metadata category;   (d) transmitting the message content and the first metadata category from the discovery computing device to the reviewer computing device;   (e) filtering by the discovery computing device, the message content according to the first metadata category; and   (f) transmitting the filtered message content from the discovery computing device to the reviewer computing device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first metadata category is a participant identifier. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first metadata category is a participant-entity identifier. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 (a) the conversation-specific file further comprises a second metadata category; 
 (b) the first metadata category is a participant-entered event, and the second metadata category is a participant-left event; and 
 (c) the message content is filtered by the participant-entered and the participant-left events. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the conversation-specific file message content comprises disclaimer text, and the method further comprises the steps of:
 (a) filtering by the discovery computing device, the disclaimer text from the message content; and 
 (b) transmitting the filtered message content without the disclaimer text from the discovery computing device to the reviewer computing device. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the steps of:
 (a) searching by the discovery computing device, the one or more conversation-specific files according to the first metadata category and a first metadata category value; and 
 (b) transmitting the conversation-specific files that include the first metadata category and the first metadata category value from the discovery computing device to the reviewer computing device. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the first metadata category is selected from the group consisting of a session duration, a participant count, a participant identifier, and an entity identifier. 
     
     
         8 . A computer-implemented method of electronic document review comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a computing device associated with a reviewer;   (b) providing a computing device associated with an electronic discovery system;   (c) receiving by the reviewer computing device, a conversation-specific file transmitted by the discovery computing device, the conversation-specific file comprising message content and a first metadata category;   (d) transmitting by the reviewer computing device, a filter request to the discovery computing device requesting that the message content be filtered according to the first metadata category; and   (e) receiving by the reviewer computing device, the filtered message content transmitted by the discovery computing device.   
     
     
         9 . A system for electronic document review comprising:
 a first processor associated with a reviewer;   a second processor associated with a discovery device; and   a data storage device including a computer-readable medium having computer readable code for instructing the processors, and when executed by the processors, the processors perform operations comprising:   (a) parsing by the second processor, a source file into one or more conversation-specific files, the conversation-specific files comprising message content and a first metadata category;   (b) transmitting the message content and the first metadata category from the second processor to the first processor;   (c) filtering by the second processor, the message content according to the first metadata category; and   (d) transmitting the filtered message content from the second processor to the first processor.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9  wherein the first metadata category is a participant identifier. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9  wherein the first metadata category is a participant-entity identifier. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9  wherein:
 (a) the conversation-specific file further comprises a second metadata category; 
 (b) the first metadata category is a participant-entered event, and the second metadata category is a participant-left event; and 
 (c) the message content is filtered by the participant-entered and the participant-left events. 
 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9  wherein the conversation-specific file message content comprises disclaimer text and the processors are further configured to perform operations comprising:
 (a) filtering by the second processor, the disclaimer text from the message content; and 
 (b) transmitting the filtered message content without the disclaimer text from the second processor to the first processor. 
 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9  wherein the processors are further configured to perform operations comprising:
 (a) searching by the second processor, the one or more conversation-specific files according to the first metadata category and a first metadata category value; and 
 (b) transmitting the conversation-specific files that include the first metadata category and the first metadata category value from the second processor to the first processor. 
 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the first metadata category is selected from the group consisting of a session duration, a participant count, a participant identifier, and an entity identifier. 
     
     
         16 . A system for electronic document review comprising:
 a processor associated with an electronic discovery system; and   a data storage device including a computer-readable medium having computer readable code for instructing the processor, and when executed by the processor, the processor performs operations comprising:   (a) parsing a source file into one or more conversation-specific files, the conversation-specific files comprising message content and a first metadata category;   (b) displaying the message content and the first metadata category;   (c) filtering the message content according to the first metadata category; and   (d) displaying the filtered message content.