The frenetic and pervasive development of eDiscovery has perennially raised the question of whether eDiscovery practitioners must be attorneys. In my mind, eDiscovery is as essential to the practice of law as procedure and I think that there are a number of misconceptions that prevent eDiscovery from appropriately integrating into legal practice including;
- Technology is not lawyerly nor legal substance,
- Managing the strategy of process isn’t billable,
- eDiscovery is an issue of cost and is a commodity and therefore, not legal advice,
- Law firms continue to be “services” adverse.
In this series of posts, I would first like to explore how eDiscovery is pushing practice of law issues. In an ever-complicated environment of legal services, jurisdictions first addressed practice of law and eDiscovery with respect to the use of contract attorneys and document review. I will argue that TAR, predictive coding and automated review have not changed the value of a well-trained, competent contract attorney. Every jurisdiction in the United States has acknowledged that review is an analytical, legal process that, on a document-by-document basis, solicits and generates legal advice. Ever on the forefront of eDiscovery, the District of Columbia Bar has moved to require DC Bar admission to work as a contract attorney in the District as it impacts practice management nationwide.
In my related posts, I will explore how jurisdictions and the ABA Model Rules continue to evolve what is considered to be standards of practice and how those best practices are engendering change in the eDiscovery industry. Specifically, elements of discussion will include;
- The value of temp attorneys and the Quinn Emanuel defensive “dance”
- Paralegals and document review
- How do practice of law issues affect your strategy?
- ABA Model Rules and the big picture
- eDiscovery vendors
- Large law eDiscovery infrastructure
Through each of these posts I hope to emphasize the integrity that a well-credentialed, experienced, and collaborative attorney and staff team-oriented approach brings to bear as any firm/lawyer seeks to serve client needs.
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