Learn how Law In Order supported a multi-party construction dispute with Aconex data extraction, ECA, and court-compliant review workflows for defensible disclosure.
The Challenge
A national construction company and its external counsel engaged Law In Order to manage a discovery for a complex, multi-party construction dispute involving project delays, contract variations, and alleged building defects across several work packages.
Evidence reflected the realities of a modern build, including:
- Aconex workspaces with correspondence, document registers and RFIs;
- Substantial email collections;
- Engineering and design PDFs;
- Project schedules and site photographs; and
- Contract and change control records.
Scalable Discovery Infrastructure for Construction Matters
In the opening phase, approximately 120 GB of construction project data was collected and processed into RelativityOne. To contain cost while accelerating understanding, the dataset was split between an Early Case Assessment (ECA) repository and a full review workspace.
All work proceeded under rolling, court ordered production deadlines and an evolving protocol, with heightened sensitivities around commercially confidential information, privileged communications and third-party data rights.
Counsel required a defensible, end-to-end eDiscovery solution that could quickly unify diverse data sources, filter irrelevant information, and highlight key documents for early review. The brief also called for a review program to protect privilege on various issues and produce court-compliant disclosure bundles within tight deadlines.
Construction-Focused eDiscovery Expertise
Law In Order was selected for its proven track record with Aconex data extraction and for aligning construction project records seamlessly with broader eDiscovery workflows in RelativityOne.
The team deployed scalable infrastructure; well-rehearsed continuity measures to support rapid expansion without disrupting timelines; and discovery methods aligned to court expectations, ensuring technical defensibility.
Defensible Collection and Early Case Assessment (ECA)
In coordination with the project owner and administrators, Law In Order arranged the necessary access to Aconex and validated the extraction of correspondence, transmittals and document registers, preserving project level metadata and conversation threading for downstream analysis.
The processed data was then segmented between ECA and Review workspaces. A focused ECA applied targeted filtering, de-duplication as well as advanced searches and analytics to elevate pivotal communications and documents. This surfaced critical drawings and specifications; mapped the sequence of events behind change orders and construction delays; and helped counsel refine interview plans, sharpen issue lists, and shape pleadings and expert scopes well before the full review concluded.
Technology-Assisted Review and Court-Compliant Production
During review, Law In Order combined advanced analytics, technology-assisted workflows, and human validation to spotlight responsive and privileged content, surface key documents, and accelerate issue coding.
Recommendations flowed into a managed review framework overseen by experienced review managers, with calibrated sampling and quality checks to protect privilege and maintain coding consistency. When disclosure milestones arrived, Law In Order’s eDiscovery and Consulting team prepared staged productions, court compliant indexes, load files and electronic document bundles.
Measurable Outcomes for Construction Litigation
For the client, the benefits were direct and measurable.
- Early strategy development: The early adoption of an ECA plus review model identified important documents and themes promptly, allowing counsel to direct examinations, amend pleadings, and brief experts more efficiently.
- Lower first pass review costs: Utilising a prioritised review in Review Center quickly placed key communications before human reviewers, reducing time spent on low value material without compromising quality.
- Reduced production risk: Rolling tranches were delivered on time, in formats accepted by the courts, with consistent QA, clear production indexes, and defensible privilege logs.
- Improved oversight: Transparent workflows and audit trails satisfied internal governance needs and reassured external stakeholders.
Law In Order’s construction fluency, including familiarity with Aconex structures, drawing versioning and RFI chains, translated into faster data preparation, clearer storytelling and fewer surprises. Flexible, phase appropriate hosting and pricing kept spend aligned with the litigation’s cadence, while a disciplined QA culture ensured speed never came at the expense of defensibility.
In short, the client gained earlier insight, lower review costs, reliable disclosure outcomes and stronger overall control of a high stakes dispute.
Need expert advice on managing complex legal data?
Whether you’re working with Aconex, RelativityOne, or another platform, Law In Order offers independent, platform-agnostic guidance to help you overcome data challenges. Book in for a demo of our Aconex Data Collector or schedule a legal data consult to discuss your current pain points and explore potential solutions.