eDiscovery Daily Blog

• October 9, 2012

 

I received an intriguing announcement from The Organization of Legal Professionals (OLP) regarding a new five month intensive certificate course in eDiscovery Project Management.  The first course begins on November 13 and runs through the end of April, meeting essentially weekly with all classes recorded so that you can catch up if you miss one.  Here are some details about the program.

It’s a seven course program that focuses on the “practical application of legal, IT and project management skills to interactive scenarios in an interactive, web-based, live simulation environment.”  The seven courses cover the following topics:

• Fundamentals of eDiscovery
• Advanced eDiscovery
• eDiscovery Project Management
• Legal Project Management
• The Phases of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM)
• Design and Implementation of eDiscovery Cost Controls
• International eDiscovery, eDisclosure and Information Governance

There is also an eDiscovery Case Management Lab following completion of the seven courses, a hands-on workshop which “reviews the student’s knowledge of the framework, models and practices for managing a real-life case”.

I contacted Chere Estrin, Managing Administrator for OLP and asked her how this training program differs from other programs out there and what are OLP’s goals for the program.  Here are some of her comments:

• OLP has its roots in eDiscovery.  Our core business is eDiscovery and legal technology.
• Our program is designed around the eDiscovery practical assignments that students are most likely to receive.
• OLP's instructors are well-known in the eDiscovery field and are experienced teachers.
• OLP offers students a free one-year membership to OLP that gives students approximately 100 free webinars throughout the year plus other valuable benefits.
• OLP students can return throughout their lifetime to audit any of the eDiscovery certificate courses at no charge.
• OLP has an outstanding Board of Governors and Advisory Council comprised of top experts in eDiscovery who work to promote quality continuing legal education.
• OLP certificate students can take the eDiscovery Certification Exam (CeDP) and prep course at a significant discount as long as they meet the requirements to sit for the exam such as the necessity of having a minimum of 3 years hands-on eDiscovery experience.
• OLP offers a job placement assistance program for life.

Chere noted that “[t]here is only one other program that I know of that is similar”, which is the program at Bryan University; however, according to her, there is a “huge difference in price” ($4,000 for the 5-month OLP program compared to $20,000 for the 8-month Bryan University program).  She also notes that there is a no-interest payment plan available for the OLP program.  As for the goal of the program, she notes that it is the same as the goal for all OLP programs – “to offer top, quality education to as many legal professionals as possible at reasonable and affordable costs.”

It will be interesting to see how the program is received and perhaps talk to a few of the students from the initial program, so hopefully we’ll be able to follow up in a few months.

So, what do you think?  Do you need eDiscovery project management training?  If so, would a program like this be of interest to you?  Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by CloudNine Discovery. eDiscoveryDaily is made available by CloudNine Discovery solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscoveryDaily should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.