Everlaw Empowers Freeths in High-Profile British Post Office Case

Everlaw Ediscovery Platform Plays Critical Role in Pursuit of Justice for Defendants

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Everlaw today announced Freeths, a leading full service law firm in the UK, successfully leveraged the cutting-edge capabilities of the Everlaw litigation and investigation platform to pursue justice for its defendants in the landmark British Post Office Horizon case.

Freeths managed the complex group action against the British Post Office on behalf of hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses who were accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a flawed computerised point-of-sale system. A new TV series, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, brought this case to life, and debuted on PBS Masterpiece in the U.S. this month. The government public inquiry into the wrongdoings have resumed this April.

James Hartley, partner and head of Dispute Resolutions at Freeths, took a hands-on approach in the critical discovery process and found the Everlaw platform instrumental in navigating through extensive documentation and uncovering evidence crucial to the case.

“Everlaw provided us with a strategic edge in winning the case,” said Hartley. “Its intuitive features and robust functionality enabled us to efficiently manage vast amounts of data and identify key evidence essential to our strategy.”

The case presented significant challenges, with the opposition's strategy aimed at inundating Freeths with discovery documents. However, by partnering with Everlaw and using Elevate’s expert services early in the case, Freeths was able to tackle this head-on. Everlaw's visual document grouping capabilities proved valuable in organising and reviewing the disclosure tranches, which comprised hundreds of thousands of documents.

One of the standout features of Everlaw was its powerful search functionality, allowing the Freeths team to sift through documents to pinpoint crucial information, including board minutes, reports, and technical documents. In a race against time, Everlaw facilitated the review of last-minute documents received from the opposition, ensuring that critical evidence, such as technical documents highlighting computer system defects, known as KELs and PEAKs, was promptly identified.

Together, the Freeths’ team and Elevate collaborated on discovery review using the Everlaw platform. Elevate provided their technical expertise and dedicated support to Hartley and his small team so they could work effectively and efficiently on Everlaw against a racing clock.

“The Everlaw platform was a secret weapon throughout this case,” Hartley said. “Its ability to streamline collaboration and empower us to work seamlessly, even in a paperless trial environment, was unparalleled. Without Everlaw, navigating through the document dumps would have been overwhelming.”

“The Post Office case underscores the pivotal role technology plays in modern legal practice,” said Everlaw Founder and CEO AJ Shankar. “Using Everlaw, Freeths and Elevate charted a straighter path to the truth.”

Reflecting on Freeth’s experience, Hartley offered advice to other legal professionals, urging them to leverage technology as a strategic advantage. “Don't underestimate the efficiency and effectiveness of technology,” he advised. “With the right tools, even small teams can achieve remarkable results. Everlaw proved to be a game-changer for us, and I would recommend it to anyone navigating complex litigation.”

Background on the case is found here.

About Freeths

Freeths is a leading full-service UK law firm, with 1,200 colleagues and 13 offices. It’s trusted by leading household names as well as charities, universities and private individuals to think beyond the norm and get the best results. Freeths is The Times Best Law Firms 2024 and consistently ranked in the top tier of the Legal 500 and Chambers guides.

About Everlaw

Everlaw helps legal teams navigate the increasingly complex ediscovery landscape to chart a straighter path to the truth. Trusted by Fortune 100 corporate counsel, 91 of the Am Law 200, and all 50 state attorneys general, Everlaw's combination of intuitive experience, advanced technology, and partnership with customers empowers organisations to tackle the most pressing technological challenges—and transform their approach to discovery and litigation in the process. Founded in 2010 and based in Oakland, Calif., Everlaw is funded by top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, HIG Growth Partners, K9 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and TPG Growth. Follow us on LinkedIn.