Allysia Edwards

 

In the past several weeks, we’ve talked a lot about working with service providers.  We’ve covered what to look for when you’re evaluating vendors, how to select vendors, how to monitor vendor work and prevent problems, and how to establish and manage a preferred vendor program in a law firm. 

In the next few posts (which will conclude this vendor series), I will give you some very concrete information that will help you to generate good requests for proposals (RFPs).  A good RFP has two essential elements:

1. Information that you provide about the case, your requirements and your expectations.  A vendor can’t provide you with good schedule and cost information if you haven’t provided good information to the vendor.
2. Information that you request of the vendor.  You’ll have lots of questions about the vendor’s services, capabilities, flexibility, capacity, qualifications and costs.

We’re going to look at several electronic discovery services – for example, ESI processing, and ESI hosting – and we’ll walk through the information pieces that are important.  For each service, I’ll make suggestions for the information that you should provide, and I’ll make suggestions for the questions that you should ask. When the blog series is complete, you should have a good resource of information points and questions to include in your RFPs.

What type of information do you provide to a vendor in a RFP?  Please share any comments you might have and let us know if you’d like to know more about an eDiscovery topic.

 

Last week, we began talking about keeping a preferred vendor program up to date, and we covered establishing criteria to evaluate vendors after every project.  Here are the remaining steps in establishing a mechanism for keeping your preferred vendor program fresh and up to date:

2. Establish a mechanism for collecting evaluations from end-users on each project.  Once you’ve got a list of evaluation criteria for each service, you need to establish a mechanism for collecting evaluations from end-users after each project.  You might, for example, develop an electronic survey.  If you don’t think the attorneys and paralegals in your firm would fill that out, maybe in-person interviews after each project will be better.  Figure out what will work best in your firm and establish the process.

3. Establish a mechanism for compiling and analyzing the information collected in the surveys, and for ranking a vendor’s performance.  Build a database of the evaluation information you collect, and develop a ranking system so it’s easy to compare vendors, at a glance. 

4. Identify a Manager for the preferred vendor program.  Someone – probably in the firm’s litigation support department – needs to be responsible for monitoring the program.  The manager’s responsibilities may include:

• Ensuring that end-of-project evaluations are done and that information is entered into the evaluation database.
• Maintaining the evaluation database.
• Providing feedback to vendors on performance evaluations.
• Identifying vendors that – based on performance – should be removed from the preferred vendor list.
• Communicating with vendors on administration issues (for example, on contracts and invoicing policies)

5. Periodically re-assess the program:  the last component of a preferred vendor program is a plan for “redoing” it every year or 18 months.  To really keep the program up to-date, it should be reviewed in it’s entirely on a set schedule.  Are their new services that should be added to the list?  Are there new vendors that should be looked at and evaluated?  Are there vendors on your list that may be meeting the bare requirements, but not the best of the lot?  Should they be removed?  Look at the program — in its entirety – with a fresh eye to ensure it’s doing what you need it to do and that it’s as good as it can be.

Have you developed a preferred vendor program?  How did you do it?  Please share any comments you might have and let us know if you’d like to know more about an eDiscovery topic.

 

In the last several posts in this series, we talked about evaluating and selecting vendors for a preferred vendor program.  Once that’s done, you still have a bit of work to do before rolling out your program.  You need to establish a mechanism for on-going evaluation of the vendors on your list.  This is an important component of the program – you need to monitor the work of the vendors on your list to ensure that they continue to meet your requirements and live up to your expectations.  Here’s the first step in developing this part of the program:

1. Determine evaluation criteria for each service.  The first step in developing a preferred vendor program was to create a list of the services that you’d like vendors to provide.  Go back to that list, and for each service, identify evaluation criteria that you can apply to every project moving forward.  There are some general criteria points that will probably apply to all services.  Some examples are: 

• Were our deadlines met?
• Were costs what we expected?
• Were quality expectations met?
• Was the vendor easy to work with?
• Was the vendor responsive?
• If applicable, did we receive timely status reports with useful information?
• Were invoices timely and accurate?

For each service, there are likely to be specific questions.  Some examples are: 

• For electronic discovery processing services: were load files formatted correctly?
• For coding services: were coding rules applied consistently?
• For electronic discovery processing services:  were changes in priorities in processing implemented smoothly?
• For OCR services:  was OCR quality sufficient?
• For use of online review tools:  was searching easy?  Did the tool offer all the search features we needed? 

Your goal is to compile a list – for each service – of easy-to-answer questions that will let you know if the vendor performed well on a project

Next week, we’ll go over the remaining steps in establishing a mechanism for keeping your preferred vendor program up to date.

Do you evaluate vendor performance after each project?  How do you do it?  Please share any comments you might have and let us know if you’d like to know more about an eDiscovery topic.

 

Yesterday, we covered the first couple of steps in establishing a law firm preferred vendor program.  Here are the next steps in the process:

3. Review the vendors with which the firm has worked in the past year.  Make a list of the vendors with which the firm has recent experience.  For each, answer these questions:

• What services were provided?
• How much work did the vendor do for the firm?
• Were deadlines met?
• Did the vendor provide high-quality work?
• Were costs reasonable and within expectations?
• Was the vendor easy to work with?
• Are there thresholds that if exceeded, the vendor might not be a good candidate (for example, high volume or quick turnaround projects)?

The vendors that pass muster in this initial review can be the starting point of your preferred vendor list.

4. Classify vendors by service.  So far, you’ve created two lists:  a list of the services you need provided, and a list of the vendors that have done good work for the firm.  Combine those lists.  Under each service, list the vendors that provide that service.  Make qualifying notes regarding thresholds, if applicable.

5. Evaluate additional vendors.  Fill in the holes on your list, if that’s necessary.  For each service, you should have multiple vendors.  If you need to add to your list, do some research and vendor evaluations.  Even if your lists are complete, it’s always a good idea to find out if there are other vendors you should be considering.  Talk to peers in the industry and do a little research to make sure you are not overlooking good candidates.

6. Finalize the list and negotiate “relationships”.  When your list is filled in, make sure you’ve met with each vendor and that you’ve clearly laid out the firm’s expectations and come to agreement on how you’ll work with the vendor.  This may involve negotiating standard pricing, standard deliverables, project start-up procedures, and communication protocols.

Next week we’ll focus on establishing the next component of a preferred vendor program:  establishing mechanisms for doing on-going evaluations of the vendors on your list.

Have you developed a preferred vendor program for your firm?  How did you do it?  Please share any comments you might have and let us know if you’d like to know more about an eDiscovery topic.

 

Last week, we talked about the components of a preferred vendor program.  Establishing a program is a “project”, and should be approached with a solid plan of action.  First, identify who will put the program together.  The team should be made up of experienced litigation support professionals and it should incorporate input from litigation team members.  Once the team is in place, you need a step-by-step approach for moving forward.

In the next few posts in this blog series, I’ll suggest an approach.  Here are the first couple of steps:

1. Create a list of the services to be provided by vendors.  You may need vendors to provide a variety of services – services that the firm’s litigation support department does not provide, and services for projects that exceed the capacity of the firm’s litigation support department offerings.  Your list may look something like this:

• ESI collection
• ESI processing
• Tiffing
• Photocopying and scanning
• Coding / auto-coding
• Hosting and providing online review platforms
• Language translation
• Document review staffing and management
• Court reporting / deposition transcription
• Trial support services 

2. Get input from litigation team members on preferences and priorities.  Survey attorneys and paralegals in the firm to determine what is most important to them.  For each service on the list, ask questions about pricing expectations, overall schedule requirements, and expectations on deliverables.  Ask them if they’ve worked with vendors that should be considered.  This is an important step.  First, it ensures that your evaluation process will take into account what’s most important to the users.  Second, litigation department members are more likely to embrace a program that they participated in developing.

We’ll continue with the next steps tomorrow.

Have you developed a preferred vendor program for your firm?  How did you do it?  Please share any comments you might have and let us know if you’d like to know more about an eDiscovery topic.

 

Yesterday, we talked about a couple of different ways in which law firms work with litigation support and eDiscovery vendors.  And, we talked about the advantages to a centralized approach and establishing a preferred vendor program.  What, exactly, is a preferred vendor program?  To most people, it’s having a list of pre-approved vendors that that can be called on as the need arises.  That is certainly the core of a preferred vendor program.  But, a good program goes a bit further.  A good program has three basic components:

1. It starts with a preferred vendor list.  The first step in establishing a preferred vendor program is an evaluation and selection process.  For each service for which you use vendors, you need to establish a list of vendors to do the work.
2. It includes a formal mechanism for on-going evaluation of the work done by vendors on a case-by-case basis.  You need to ensure that your list is “fresh”.  Things change.  Staff leaves.  A vendor that is doing great work for you today may not be doing so eight months from now.  You need a mechanism in place to evaluate the work a vendor does on every case.  And that mechanism should include an easy way to incorporate input from end-users. 
3. It should include scheduled, formal re-evaluations to ensure that you’ve always got the best available vendors on your list.  In addition to evaluating a vendor’s work after each project, the preferred vendor list should be periodically re-assessed.  Are their new vendors that should be added?  Are their better technologies that aren’t offered by the vendors on your list?  Are the vendors on your list still consistently meeting your expectations?  A formal re-review should be a planned, scheduled activity and done once a year or once every eighteen months.

In the next posts in this blog series, I’ll walk you through a step-by-step approach to establishing a preferred vendor program in your firm.

Does your firm have a preferred vendor program?  What are the components of your program?  Please share any comments you might have and let us know if you’d like to know more about an eDiscovery topic.

 

Law firms take different approaches to working with vendors.  In some firms, individual litigation teams evaluate, select and manage vendors on a case-by-case basis.  Other firms take a centralized approach where all vendor activities are coordinated and managed by a centralized litigation support department.  And taking that a step further, many firms that use a centralized approach, establish a preferred vendor program.  What works best?  That probably depends on the culture and organization of a law firm. 

For most firms, there is a strong argument to be made for a centralized, preferred-vendor approach.  It has several advantages: 

1. Vendor evaluation and selection is more likely to be done by those with the most knowledge and broadest experience.  Litigation support professionals are experts in the services provided by litigation support and eDiscovery vendors.  This is what they are trained to do and it is a primary focus of their jobs.
2. Vendor evaluation is likely to be more thorough and careful.  When vendor evaluation and selection is done when faced with short case deadlines, it may be rushed.  Corners might be cut. 
3. Working with vendors is likely to be more efficient.  You won’t be reinventing the wheel on every case.  The time-consuming task of evaluating vendors is done once.  On each case, it’s simply a matter of selecting the most appropriate vendor from a list of pre-approved vendors.
4. You’ll have a stable of good vendors that you trust on-call for rush cases.
5. Project start-up will be faster and easier.  On each case, you’ll need to communicate case-specific requirements and nuances, but overall expectations, work flow procedures, and communication protocols are already in place.
6. Expectations regarding deliverables are already in place.  The vendor will know what you expect and will be in a better position to get things right, the first time.
7. For many tasks, vendors offer pricing based on volume.  You may be able to negotiate preferred-pricing based on overall business with the firm rather than volume on a case-by-case basis.
8. A centralized, preferred vendor approach will facilitate good working relationships with individuals in the vendor organization.  This can only help with maintaining consistent, high-quality work.

In the upcoming posts in this blog series, we’ll discuss the components of a preferred vendor program and how to go about establishing a program in your firm.

How does your firm work with vendors?  Please share any comments you might have and let us know if you’d like to know more about an eDiscovery topic.