Structured-Data Extraction and Analysis for Matters Where the Database Is the Evidence

What Structured-Data Discovery Actually Delivers

• Preservation-authorized read-only access to the systems that hold the evidence, negotiated with the systems team so the extraction does not disturb production operations.
• Schema documentation for the specific systems in play, so the extraction can be authenticated by reference to the actual data model rather than by conjecture.
• Scoped extractions targeting the specific records in dispute, using vendor-supported and directly-authored SQL queries with the query text, execution record and result set preserved as evidence.
• Bespoke reconciliation and reconstruction where the matter requires linking multiple tables, multiple systems or multiple time windows into one coherent transaction-level record.
• Expert declaration and testimony supporting the extraction methodology and the resulting reconstruction, delivered by the analyst who performed the work.
• Provenance affidavit for every produced dataset so the receiving party has the record needed to authenticate the evidence without requiring the underlying database itself to be produced.

Why Databases Cannot Be Treated Like Files

The document-review paradigm that dominates traditional eDiscovery does not translate to structured data. The unit of evidence is not a file to be reviewed; it is a query result to be authenticated. The record is not fixed at collection time; it is a snapshot of a specific query against a specific state of the database. The extraction methodology is itself the subject of expert scrutiny, and the extracting analyst has to be able to explain and defend each choice.

• Schema literacy matters more than tooling. A useful extraction requires understanding the specific data model of the system in play, not just running a vendor-provided export.
• Query design is expert work. The specific joins, filters and aggregations that produce the responsive extraction are themselves subject to challenge, and the analyst has to be able to explain each choice under cross-examination.
• Bespoke reconciliation is the norm. Real-world matters typically require linking multiple tables across multiple systems and often across multiple time windows. Off-the-shelf reports rarely produce the answer the matter requires.
• Provenance is different. The chain of custody documents the query, the execution record, the resulting dataset and the affidavit of the extracting analyst, rather than the physical medium the document was collected from.

Enterprise Systems We Support

• ERP: SAP (ECC and S/4HANA), Oracle EBS and Fusion, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Infor, Workday Financials, and construction-industry-specific ERPs (Procore, Sage 300 CRE, Foundation, Viewpoint Vista).
• CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, Zoho, Pipedrive.
• HRIS and payroll: Workday HCM, ADP, Paycom, Paylocity, BambooHR, UKG.
• Financial systems: QuickBooks (Online and Desktop), Xero, Sage Intacct, and specialized systems for the trust-accounting, fund-administration and family-office contexts common in the HNW estate matters our Miami practice sees.
• Property and facility management: Yardi, RealPage, AppFolio, Buildium, MRI, and the specific patterns condominium and homeowner association environments use.
• Case-management and industry-specific systems: healthcare EHRs and PM systems, legal case-management systems, and industry-specific platforms as they surface in matters.
• Custom and bespoke systems: where a matter turns on data held in a client-built database, we work directly against the schema with the client’s systems team.

Extraction Methodology

1. Preservation-order and access negotiation with the systems team, establishing read-only extraction access that does not disturb production operations.
2. Schema discovery and documentation for the specific systems in scope, with the resulting documentation preserved as part of the evidentiary record.
3. Query design targeting the specific records the matter requires, with the query text preserved and the design choices documented for later defense.
4. Extraction execution with full execution logging, so the resulting dataset can be authenticated by reference to the specific query, the specific state of the database and the specific extraction timestamp.
5. Reconciliation and reconstruction where the matter requires linking multiple sources into one coherent transaction-level record.
6. Expert declaration and testimony supporting the extraction and reconstruction, delivered by the analyst who performed the work.

Where We Review Structured-Data Extractions

Structured-data extractions are almost always run in our in-house environment, because the artifacts a database produces (bespoke exports, custom queries, schema-linked spreadsheets and provenance affidavits) are rarely a natural fit for the traditional document-review interface commercial platforms are optimized for. Where the matter includes both structured and unstructured data at enterprise scale, we route the unstructured portion into Relativity, Reveal or Nuix and keep the structured evidence in a purpose-built review environment against CompleteDiscovery.

Where Our Miami Structured-Data Practice Runs Deepest

Construction and infrastructure disputes

ERP-based project accounting reconstruction, subcontract and change-order reconciliation, cost-code allocation analysis, and the specific patterns of construction-industry ERPs. Coordination with retained damages experts on the reconstruction methodology.

Financial services and banking matters

Core banking systems, general ledger reconstruction, transaction-level analysis and the specific systems the Miami financial-services cluster relies on.

Cross-border commercial disputes

ERP and financial-system extractions across US parent and Latin American subsidiary entities, with bilingual reporting where the receiving audience requires it.

Condominium and homeowner-association litigation

Property-management-system extractions supporting assessment, arrears, common-element and governance disputes, which are a substantial share of the litigation landscape in South Florida.

HNW estate, trust and family-office matters

Trust-accounting-system extractions, investment-record reconstruction and family-office administrative-system reviews for high-net-worth probate and estate matters.

Fintech, crypto and digital-asset matters

Trading platform, custody system and settlement-system extractions for the Miami digital-asset cluster, structured for use in both litigation and regulatory examinations.

Healthcare matters

EHR, practice-management and billing-system extractions for healthcare litigation, with scope defined to respect HIPAA and the specific protected-health-information framework the matter requires.

Standards and Standing

Methodology anchored on the EDRM, the Sedona Conference principles on the discovery of structured data, ISO/IEC 27037 guidelines for identification, collection, acquisition and preservation of digital evidence, and the platform-vendor guidance for each specific system. Analysts hold digital-forensics credentials (SANS GCFE, GCFA), database administration credentials appropriate to the platforms in play, and where relevant CPA credentials for financial-record reconstruction work. Reports, extractions and expert declarations are structured for authentication under Fla. Stat. § 90.901 and Federal Rules of Evidence 902(13) and 902(14), and for admissibility analysis under Daubert / Frye.