KPMG has launched a web-based data centre to help lawyers manage large-scale litigation and arbitration. Lawyers can interrogate millions of pages of evidence from multiple sources, through one interface.
The new service offering, Forensic Data Centre, will enhance the global accounting and consulting group’s standing as a major player in the litigation-support industry.
KPMG says the system can store millions of pages of case evidence in one place, allowing teams of lawyers to interrogate, share and compile evidence from anywhere in the world, via an internet connection.
Prior to commercial release, FDC was used in several large-scale engagements conducted by KPMG Forensic – in one case, holding more than 1m pages of evidence, which were made available to the team of 50 investigators from KPMG Forensic and three different law firms.
Adam Bates, global head of KPMG Forensic, said: *“With the massive numbers of electronic documents that now have to be investigated in large scale litigation and international arbitration, bringing together all information sources is a consuming and laborious task. Ten years ago, evidence in a typical case would fill a room. These days, if printed out, it would fill a whole office building. This system will allow senior litigators to quickly get on with what they do best – assessing the evidence and advising clients on how best to fight the case.”*
Matthew Rees, manager in KPMG Forensic’s Technology Group, added that the power of the FDC is that it is available from any location, irrespective of geography and time zone. *”This means.”* he said, *”that, subject to the considerations of data protection, the team of investigators can comprise individuals from different firms and different countries. Global teams can handle large volumes of disparate types of data much more easily.”*