Must see eDiscovery articles for the week of July 14;
Rise of the Agile Super-Lawyer by Nina Knierim. Following law school and licensing, lawyers are often amazed at how poorly legal education prepares them for the modern practice of law. Although this brief article does not specifically relate to eDiscovery, legal technology is a component of developing an “agile super-lawyer” and a significant part of how practice has evolved. eDiscovery is also representative of an increasing “do-it-yourself” environment that focuses on the business of law and for which recent law grads are largely unprepared.
Ten Characteristics of an Ideal Managed Services Provider by Rachel Tiesch. Outsourcing document review may prove to be a challenging decision for an organization because it affects more than just a single case team/client. From a firm’s perspective, the choice requires collaboration with professional responsibility departments (conflicts), billing, and litigation support and it may impact policies created by the firm’s OGC. Also, a critical question with a managed review provider is who will manage the relationship. However, as practice continues to be more competitive, law firms should provide as many options as possible and outsourcing should be one solution as part of a holistic, strategic client data management menu. Tiesch provides a good starting point for vetting providers. For individual matters, practice groups, or firms, decision-making will require you to drill down into the ten characteristics to assure that vendors are capable of meeting specific needs.
A Case for Insourcing eDiscovery Data Management by Andrew Bartholomew. Having worked in an environment where the size of cases ranged from single plaintiffs to massive class actions as well as regulatory investigations, I have always appreciated the flexibility of in-house data management solutions. Although institutional efficiency and cost-sensitivity is paramount in this market, a firm must also be prepared to provide a solution that meets a client’s specific expectations, resources and needs. Law firms must balance what theoretically makes the most business sense with what serves their stable of clients and best positions them among their competitors. Another consideration with the insourcing question is staffing. Firms are making widely different decisions with respect to their eDiscovery/litigation support human resources and strategies and in some cases, staff has been eliminated to reduce costs. Insourcing requires a commitment to technical staffing.
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