XML

The mission of the EDRM XML Project is to provide a standard, generally accepted XML schema to facilitate the movement of electronically stored information (ESI) from one step of the e-discovery process to the next, from one software program to the next, and from one organization to the next.

The ESI includes both underlying discovery materials (e.g., email messages and attachments, loose files, and databases) and information about those materials (e.g., the source of the underlying ESI, processing of that ESI, and production of that ESI).

EDRM XML will help practitioners significantly streamline processes and enable the integration of multiple e-discovery technologies. In the 2009-2010 project year, this group will continue development of version 1 of the EDRM XML schema, including the validation tools and related materials. Additionally, the EDRM XML group has begun development of version 2 of the EDRM XML schema and will continue to promote the use of the EDRM XML schema.

Effective use of the EDRM XML schema should:

• Provide relief from the existing quagmire of proprietary load file formats
• Decrease the time and resources required to transfer ESI from one step of the EDRM process to another
• Minimize errors and risk associated with such transfers
• Provide a backward-compatible future expansion path

Accomplishments

• Developed the e-discovery industry’s first widely adopted, vendor-neutral interchange format:
  • February, 2008: 1.0 release
  • February, 2009: 1.1 follow-on
• Acted as a central resource for industry leaders to talk about data interchange issues in the e-discovery “value chain”

Goals

• Define draft 2.0 schema for public comment by May, 2010:
  • Additional core schema enhancements
  • Upstream integration (IMRM)
  • EDRM Search integration
• Ratify 2.0 schema by August, 2010
• Develop more formal certification programs
• Develop more resources to educate the market about the merits of EDRM XML and how to use it

Questions

1. What is the EDRM XML specification?
2. How long has the specification been around?
3. How many vendors support the specification?
4. Isn’t EDRM XML just another load file format?
5. What’s next for the standard?
6. How do I get involved?

Answers

1. What is the EDRM XML specification?

   The EDRM XML specification exists to enable vendor-neutral data interchange from one step of the e-discovery process to the next, from one software program to the next, and from one organization to the next.

2. How long has the specification been around?

   The standard was developed by a group of 45 vendors and released to the public in February, 2008. The 1.1 update to the spec was released in February, 2009.

3. How many vendors support the specification?

   There are currently 32 vendors involved in the EDRM XML effort, and 21 that support the specification for import, export, or both.

4. Isn’t EDRM XML just another load file format?

   No! In its current usage by most vendors, EDRM is primarily used to move e-discovery information between the processing, analysis and review phases of the EDRM process. In that sense, it’s a load file format in its most common usage today – but one that eliminates the issues associated with legacy, proprietary formats.

   However, it is a longer-term goal of the EDRM XML group that, after initial adoption and refining as a load file format, that the extensible nature of the XML specification will allow it to easily be extended upstream to earlier phases of e-discovery. Some “early adopters” in the identification/collection/ preservation phases of EDRM are starting to develop integrations with processing applications using the EDRM XML schema.

5. What’s next for the standard?

   Work on the 2.0 version of the schema is just getting underway in earnest.

6. How do I get involved?

   You can participate in two ways:

   • As a full participant in the project. To do this, sign up at www.edrm.net
   • As a public commenter. EDRM XML, like all EDRM projects, is an open standard, and input from anyone involved in e-discovery who seeks to advance the usefulness and adoption of the format is incredibly important to the project’s success. Commenting can be done through the EDRM XML bulletin board at www.edrm.net

Ask a Question

Complaint Organizations and Software

The EDRM XML compliance process is as follows:

1. From the Downloads tab on this page, download the XSD file, the test data set, the validation tool and the documentation
2. Prepare a load file and run it through the validation tool
3. Demonstrate the ability to import EDML XML (validated with compliance data set):
   1. Send a screenshot of the EDRM XML import user interface for your product, basically showing how the user selects an EDRM XML file for import/processing
   2. Send a screenshot that shows that the EDRM XML import successfully completed with no errors
4. Demonstrate the ability to export EDRM XML (validated with EDRM validation tool): Submit a copy of an EDRM-compliant XML export file generated from your system, along with a screenshot showing that it has successfully been parsed by the validation tool (i.e. shows a green check mark)
5. Please send the results of 1 (import) and/or 2 (export) as is appropriate to George Socha and Tom Gelbmann at mail@edrm.net for approval of the compliance and posting to the EDRM site.

Downloads for the XML Project, sorted from newest to oldest:

Most files may be downloaded by anyone. Except where otherwise noted, use of files is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. To provide attribution, please cite to “EDRM (edrm.net).” If you have questions, contact us at mail@edrm.net.

Some files are identified as “participants-only draft.” These are works in progress, available only to EDRM participants. Generally, these files ultimately will be made publicly available or else their content will be incorporated into the EDRM site.

• EDRM XML Goals
  (posted Feb 03, 2010; ppt; 2.46 MB)
  PowerPoint presentation for Feb. 1, 2010 EDRM lunch-and-learn session, discussing goals of the EDRM XML project
• EDRM XML Overview
  (posted Feb 03, 2010; pdf; 73.08 KB)
  Overview of EDRM XML Project, for Feb. 1, 2010 EDRM lunch-and-learn session
• EDRM-MetadataTags-1.1.xls (version 1.1)
  (posted Feb 09, 2009; xls; 32 KB)
  Updated EDRM XML metadata spreadsheet
• EDRM-1.1.xml (version 1.1)
  (posted Feb 09, 2009; xml; 16.29 KB)
  Updated EDRM XML XSD file
• EDRM Schema (version 1.1)
  (posted Feb 09, 2009; zip; 10.65 KB)
  .zip file containing EDRM-1.1.xml & EDRM-MetadatTags-1.1.xls
• EDRM LegalTech 2009 Luncheon Presentation
  (posted Feb 09, 2009; ppt; 4.94 MB)
  Presentation from the EDRM luncheon at LegalTech New York, Feb. 3, 2009
• EDRM LegalTech 2009 Luncheon Presentation
  (posted Feb 09, 2009; pptx; 1.82 MB)
  Presentation from the EDRM luncheon at LegalTech New York, Feb. 3, 2009
• EDRM LegalTech 2009 Luncheon Presentation
  (posted Feb 09, 2009; pdf; 1.42 MB)
  Presentation from the EDRM luncheon at LegalTech New York, Feb. 3, 2009
• Updated EDRM XML compliance load file (version Jan. 23, 2008)
  (posted Jan 29, 2009; zip; 5.74 KB)
  .zip file containing updated .xml compliance load file
• EDRM XML Interchange Format Schema Documentation (version Jan. 23, 2008)
  (posted Jan 23, 2008; pdf; 46.43 KB)
  
• EDRM XML XSD (version Jan. 11, 2008)
  (posted Jan 12, 2008; xsd; 16.45 KB)
  EDRM XML XSD file
• EDRM XML Validation Tool (version 1.0.6)
  (posted Jan 08, 2008; zip; 6.54 MB)
  .zip file containing XMLValidationTool.msi, an executable file developed by the EDRM XML 2 Validation Tool Working Group. The program expects the xsd schema to exist in the C:\Program Files\XMLValidationTool folder.
• EDRM XML Materials (version Dec. 18, 2007)
  (posted Dec 18, 2007; zip; 3.73 MB)
  .zip file containing updated EDRM-XMLSchema.xsd, edrmloadfile-v09.xml compliance load file; EDRM-MetadataTags.xls spreadsheet file; compliance data set folder consisting of edocs, email and TIFF; 20071218tree.xls spreadsheet file listing contents of compliance data set folder; and readme.txt file. Developed by EDRM XML 2 XDS Completion Working Group.
• XSD and Metadata Zip file (version 1.0)
  (posted Nov 01, 2007; zip; 10.36 KB)
  .zip file

• Full Set of Materials from EDRM Lunch-and-Learn Session at LegalTech - March 1, 2010

  Here are links to all the materials used and distributed at the EDRM lunch-and-learn session at New York LegalTech

• 2010-2011 EDRM Kickoff Meeting Update - February 26, 2010

  Whether you are a current EDRM participant, an EDRM alumnus, or have never participated in EDRM, we invite you to the kickoff meeting for the 2010-2011 EDRM year - our sixth year!

• Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Announces Public Comment Period for All E-Discovery Projects - February 23, 2010

  ST. PAUL, Minn. – February 23, 2010 – The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) project teams announced today announced the beginning of the public comment period for new work product drafts posted on the EDRM website.

• EDRM at LegalTech - November 10, 2009

  EDRM will at LegalTech NY, with a Lunch & Learn session on Monday, February 1, 2010, in the Hilton's Petit Trianon room. Find out what we have been doing with EDRM, where we hope to go with the projects, and how you can get involved.

• CaseCentral and StoredIQ Announce Strategic eDiscovery Alliance - October 19, 2009

  CaseCentral, the leader in secure, on-demand eDiscovery software for corporate counsel and law firms looking to simplify and take control of eDiscovery, and StoredIQ, a leading provider of Intelligent Information Management and eDiscovery technologies, today announced a strategic partnership to provide an integrated eDiscovery offering that ranges from identification, preservation, collection and processing of electronically stored information (ESI) through analysis, review, production and post-production re-use. The companies will leverage the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) XML standard to seamlessly move ESI from one system to another, which will significantly reduce the cost of eDiscovery processing.

• EDRM Approaches Mid-Year Meeting With New Website and Significant Project Advancements - October 17, 2009

  The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) project today announced that it is now easier for users to find the valuable research and standards created by the leading e-discovery industry group via a completely re-designed website, www.edrm.net. In addition, the EDRM leaders, Tom Gelbmann and George Socha, have provided updates to all of the working projects in advance of the mid-year meeting, which is being held from Oct. 20-21, 2009, in St. Paul, Minn.

• What’s New at EDRM - September 11, 2009

  Great strides have been taken over the past two years to flesh out and further define the EDRM model. Over the next few months, you will be seeing two years worth of active collaboration, refinement and modeling being added to the EDRM website. As part of that process, we are re-building the site to provide users an updated interface with easier access to the valuable research and content. In that realm, we wanted to provide a quick update on what’s happening in each of the projects.

• Version 1.1 of EDRM XML XSD and Metadata Spreadsheet Now Available - February 9, 2009
• EDRM LegalTech Luncheon Presentation Now Available - February 9, 2009

  The presentation from the EDRM Luncheon at LegalTech New York is now available for download. On Feb. 3, 2009, EDRM leaders gave presentations on their working group activities and progress in 2008 as well as activities of focus in 2009. They covered all six EDRM projects: Evergreen, XML, Metrics, Search, Model Code of Conduct, and Data Set.

• EDRM Luncheon at LegalTech New York Conference to Address Key E-Discovery Issues - January 29, 2009

  St. Paul, MN (January 28, 2009) – The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (“EDRM”), an industry group created to develop and establish practical guidelines and standards for electronic discovery, today announces: WHAT: An EDRM “Lunch and Learn” featuring George Socha, Tom Gelbmann and other industry leaders for a presentation on the key trends impacting e-discovery professionals, including advancing standards across all phases of the process (Evergreen), ethical challenges (Model Code of Conduct), search practices and technology advancements (Search), data challenges (Data Set) and XML integration between various e-discovery tools (XML). Attendees will also have an opportunity to learn more about involvement in this industry-leading organization.

• Fios & EDRM Webcast: Creating Standards for E-Discovery - April 7, 2008
• First Round of EDRM XML Compliant Software and Services - February 10, 2008
• Draft EDRM 2007-2008 Content Now Available for Public Comment - February 1, 2008

  The draft EDRM 2007-2008 content is now available for public comment.

• EDRM XML Schema Luncheon at LegalTech - Feb. 6 - January 23, 2008
• EDRM XML Schema Luncheon at LegalTech - Feb. 5 - January 23, 2008
• EDRM XML Webinar Content Now Available On-Line - January 22, 2008
• Revised EDRM XML Validation Tool now available - January 9, 2008
• EDRM XML Validation Tool now available - January 8, 2008
• Updated EDRM XML materials available - December 18, 2007
• Streamlining the Electronic Discovery Process With XML Standards: The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) XML Interchange Format Schema - December 7, 2007
• EDRM XML Standard Webinar - December 3, 2007
• EDRM Launches New E-Discovery XML Standard and Presents Web Seminar on Use Cases, Benefits - December 3, 2007

  St. Paul, MN (December 3, 2007) – The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (“EDRM”), an industry group created to develop and establish practical guidelines and standards for electronic discovery, today launches its Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard, now available for download at the EDRM Website (www.edrm.net). The standard allows for the easy transfer of electronically stored information (ESI) to and from applications involved in different phases of the discovery process.

• Catalyst Announces Support for EDRM Working Group XML Standard for Electronic Discovery Exchange - November 28, 2007

  Denver, Colorado, November 28, 2007—Catalyst Repository Systems today announced full support for the Electronic Discovery Reference Model’s recently enacted XML-based standards designed to facilitate the transfer of electronically stored information to and from applications involved in different phases of the discovery process. The new standards were set last month by the EDRM industry group, of which Catalyst is a member.

• Exterro adopts Electronic Discovery Reference Model XML Standard for e-Discovery Management Workflow and Legal Hold Processes - November 26, 2007

  Lake Oswego, OR—November 19, 2007—Exterro, a leading provider of advanced workflow technology to the legal industry, announced that it has adopted the Electronic Discovery Reference Model’s (EDRM) recently developed Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard. The standard helps quickly and easily convert and transfer electronically stored information (ESI) between applications and IT systems during the e-Discovery process. Exterro is a member of the EDRM project and its integrated workflow platform for discovery management, Exterro Fusion, already adheres to the EDRM model framework and metrics. This latest adoption of the EDRM’s XML standard reconfirms Exterro’s commitment to the EDRM project and the practical guidelines and standards it sets for e-Discovery.

• ONSITE3 Announces Support of EDRM XML Standard for Flexible Transfer of Electronic Evidence - November 26, 2007

  Arlington, Virginia (November 26, 2007) -- ONSITE3(TM), a leading global provider of electronic discovery solutions for law firms and corporations, today announced support of an Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard developed by the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) for the flexible transfer of electronically stored information (ESI) throughout all phases of the discovery process. The new standard will provide a uniform, industry accepted format for the import and export of data between different applications, systems, and organizations. As an active and founding participant on the EDRM’s XML Project, ONSITE3 was integral in the development of the new standard.

• iCONECT Lends XML Expertise to EDRM’s Creation of an XML Standard - November 12, 2007

  Press release: Los Angeles, CA (November 9, 2007) – iCONECT was one of the first litigation software companies to implement an XML standard for its products, and has contributed its XML expertise to the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) project to develop an industry-wide Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard to facilitate easy transfer of electronically stored information (ESI) to and from applications involved in different phases of the discovery process.

• eMag Solutions adopts EDRM XML Standard - November 6, 2007

  Atlanta, GA – November 6, 2007 – eMag Solutions, LLC, a leading international electronic discovery company, today announced its adoption of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model’s (EDRM) recently developed Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard for the easy transfer of electronically stored information (ESI) to and from different applications engaged in various phases of the discovery process. eMag Solutions participated in the development of the new standards and strongly supports the newest initiative of the EDRM, a well-regarded industry group created to develop and establish practical guidelines and standards for e-discovery.

• New EDRM XML Distribution Mechanism - November 2, 2007
• Daticon Participates in Development of New XML Standard through the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Project - November 1, 2007

  Press release: NORWICH, CT – November 1, 2007 – Daticon LLC, a leading provider of electronic discovery and litigation support services for nearly 15 years, announced its support for the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) project and its development of an Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard facilitating easy transfer of electronically stored information (ESI) to and from applications involved in different phases of the discovery process. Daticon is not only a participant in various working groups within the EDRM project, but has taken a leadership role in the XML Validation Tool working group which will deliver an XML quality control mechanism for other electronic discovery providers wishing to adopt the new XML standard.

• CaseCentral Announces Support for New XML Standard to Ease eDiscovery Data Transfers - October 31, 2007
• EDRM XML XSD version 1.0 Now Available - October 31, 2007
• Attenex Announces Support for EDRM XML Standard for E-Discovery - October 26, 2007
• Recommind Announces Support for New XML Standard for eDiscovery - October 26, 2007
• Encore Legal Solutions Helps Create New XML Standard Under Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Initiative - October 25, 2007
• MetaLINCS Adopts EDRM XML Standard for E-Discovery - October 24, 2007
• Clearwell Plays Leading Role in Development of EDRM Project XML Standard - October 24, 2007
• PSS Systems Announces Support for the EDRM XML Standard to Improve the Entire e-Discovery Process - October 24, 2007
• Autonomy ZANTAZ Announces Support of EDRM Program's New XML Standard for Electronic Discovery Processes - October 24, 2007
• Group creates standard to ease e-discovery data transfer - October 23, 2007
• EDRM Announces XML Standard for E-Discovery Industry - October 23, 2007

  St. Paul, MN (Oct. 23, 2007) – The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (“EDRM”), an industry group created to develop and establish practical guidelines and standards for electronic discovery, today announced that it has developed an Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard for the easy transfer of electronically stored information (ESI) to and from applications involved in different phases of the discovery process. The new XML standard will help all e-discovery practitioners – whether vendors, consultants, law firms, in-house counsel or corporate IT departments – reduce the cost, time and manual work associated with e-discovery.

• EDRM XML 2 Validation Tool Workgroup Oct. Meeting Agenda - October 11, 2007
• XML2 And The Minnesota State Fish - May 17, 2007
• Schema Scheming? XML Project Update - May 16, 2007
• EDRM XML Draft Schema - March 3, 2007

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