Stock Finds in 'E-Discovery'

Though IBM's (IBM Quote) FileNet, EMC (EMC Quote) and Oracle (ORCL Quote), among other enterprise vendors, offer storage, archiving and search used for e-discovery, it's companies like Marsh & Mclennan's (MMC Quote) Kroll, Attenex, Zantaz, KPMG and Guidance Software (GUID Quote) (which went public on Wednesday and jumped 32% on its debut) that offer the full range of services.

Another e-discovery specialist, FTI Consulting (FCN Quote), has snagged a hefty chunk of the backdating business, assisting more than 40 of the companies that have publicly disclosed stock-options issues.

FTI counts a number of former Securities and Exchange Commission officials in its forensic and litigation consulting group, according to Tony Lopez, the senior managing director of the group, which helps "give companies an insight into what they need to do to get things fixed from an SEC perspective."

FTI's services range from checking their customers' internal stock-options review to complete forensic examination, along with regulatory preparation for meeting with the SEC or Nasdaq, for delisting hearings.

"Our services run the gamut," Lopez says. The backdating situation "has been a big shot in the arm."

As for the costs to its customers, it depends on the scope, the number of grants and number of years under review, Lopez says. "In some cases, we're brought in and we look at specific grants. In others, we might be looking at every single option grant that was issued in a period of 15 years."