Graubard Miller

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Prior to deploying Proofpoint Enterprise Archive, Graubard Miller had an email system that was overflowing. The cost of online backups were escalating, yet without an official records retention policy, users were saving everything, unaware of what needed to be archived in order to meet regulatory compliance and eDiscovery requirements.

BUSINESS SITUATION
To meet compliance and respond to eDiscovery requests, the ideal solution would place all of the firm's electronic data in one place that could be searched and backed up, rather than an unsearchable archival solution for the purpose of disaster recovery.

Graubard Miller began searching for an affordable email solution that required very little end user interaction, where information could be stored off-site, and was easily searchable and allowed for document stubbing. The only company with a solution that met all of Graubard Miller's requirements was Proofpoint.

A LONG LIST OF REQUIREMENTS
As a legal services company, Graubard Miller needed the ability to respond to eDiscovery requests, meet regulatory compliance, develop an information retention policy and search email content.

Proofpoint Enterprise Archive had all of the features the firm desired, and then some, including:

• the ability to have all email data in one searchable store
• flexibility in applying and managing legal holds
• ease of working with and combining search rules to facilitate more complex searches during eDiscovery
• stubbing for reducing the size of email storage without removing content availability for future searches

SOLUTION
Proofpoint Enterprise Archive is an enterprise-grade email archiving solution that helps organizations reduce legal discovery risk and costs. By providing a secure, searchable repository of all email messages, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive enabled Graubard Miller to easily and consistently perform early case assessments, instantly preserve data in active legal holds, and enforce email retention policies.

“You always have to think ahead of the people you serve and have the tools ready for them when they need them. IT must take the lead and find any way to push through the policies and tools that a law firm will need to be compliant with all of the regulations and protect themselves in the event of eDiscovery requests,” explained Steven Heller, director of technology at Graubard Miller.

PROOFPOINT ENTERPRISE ARCHIVE DELIVERS
Graubard Miller was most interested in the Proofpoint Enterprise Archive features that provided email archiving, document stubbing, and an interface that allowed users to search and collect email in response to eDiscovery requests. Since up to 80 percent of email data is stored in attachments, the stubbing features helped simplify mailbox management and reduced end user mailbox sizes by automatically removing storage-intensive attachments from Microsoft Exchange, while keeping them easily accessible to users within their existing Microsoft Outlook folder structure. The solution also enabled the Firm to flag and review outgoing emails and provided built-in templates that allowed IT to construct its own records retention policy – all for less than Graubard Miller was paying for nightly backups.

Post deployment, Graubard Miller noted that:

• The mail store was reduced to a manageable size
• The stubbing feature enabled end-users to access stubbed documents with a much smaller, more efficient mailbox
• The searchable archive made searches for eDiscovery requests both fast and economical – Proofpoint's high-speed search technology returned results in 20 seconds or less
• End users were more productive with easy, self-service access to all their historical email
• Active Legal Hold features made it easier to create and enforce legal holds during eDiscovery
• Supervision review features simplified compliance audit processes and helped comply with SEC and FINRA regulations

“Proofpoint has been instrumental in helping us respond to eDiscovery requests and search emails faster, meet compliance, and set up a more efficient archiving process. Deploying Proofpoint was the best decision I ever made,” stated Heller.

ABOUT GRAUBARD MILLER
The law firm of Graubard Miller has been serving clients since 1948. The firm cost-effectively delivers the scope and level of service needed for businesses of all sizes. Graubard Miller has 18 partners, one special counsel, and two associates in the practice.