Inside eDiscovery

Inside eDiscovery Digest - Weekly Top 3

Must see eDiscovery articles for the week of August 25;

Center Stage: Judge Andrew Peck by Mark Gerlach. An excerpt from a session with Judge Peck at ILTA’s 2014 conference in Nashville, these comments from an eDiscovery pied piper focus on three of the most salient issues in practice today; predictive coding, FRE 502 and amendments to FRCP 26(1).

PC-TAR, Oversold and Under Adopted? by Greg Buckles. Buckles reveals the results of surveys and interviews designed to better gauge the real impact of analytic technology products on the legal profession. Despite pervasive marketing and widespread recognition, Buckles’ data highlights the difference between acceptance and adoption. In particular, there seems to be a significant difference between the use of analytics as part of an ECA process and the use of analytics for automated review.

The Exciting Changes in eDiscovery - A Conversation with an Expert. I always find information about eDiscovery practices in other countries to be fascinating and I have posted on EU and Asian perspectives here in the past. This article about the nature of eDiscovery in New Zealand reflects a global marketplace and shows that law firms in NZ are faced with the same challenges and decisions confronting legal professionals in the States.

Inside eDiscovery Digest – Weekly Top 3

Must see eDiscovery articles for the week of July 7:

Firms Beginning to Take Flat-Fee Model to eDiscovery by Gina Passarella. The simultaneous meteoric development of eDiscovery and its effects on legal practice along with the contracting impact of the recent recession is forcing law firms to re-imagine billing for “non-substantive” tasks and processes. Many firms struggle to justify costs for eDiscovery and technology services and we often see internal conflict regarding whether to pass along these costs to clients or absorb them as “the cost of doing business.” In addition, competition from legal service providers has enhanced pressure to sort out a profitable eDiscovery model. Passarella’s article explores an old concept that is slowly gaining some momentum; an eDiscovery managed services model within the law firm setting.

For Law Firms It's Not If But When a Cyber Breach Occurs by Kiffin Hope. I have had a number of eDiscovery insiders tell me lately that cyber-security is emerging as a “trend” in the legal industry. In my mind, cyber-security policies and best practices logically fit under the data/technology umbrella that incorporates big data, information governance and eDiscovery. Hope’s article predicts further integration and adoption of data protection measures and safeguards in law firms.

Demystifying Analytics in eDiscovery: The Facts You Need to Succeed and Thrive in an Electronic World by Steven Toole. The data analytics (predictive coding and the like) conversation has been front-and-center in eDiscovery for a few years and in its early marketing, there was substantial industry peer pressure regarding its adoption from wonks, “thought leaders,” and vendors. Despite the “hype,” integrating analytics into practice in law firms has been slow and more deliberate and many managed review providers tell the same story. However, with information governance, we are seeing a more complete picture regarding how these tools may be used in more holistic, institutional formats. Toole’s article (and associated white paper) is the best that I have seen lately on data analytics that champions and instructs.