Our Insights on eDiscovery

Today is the start of LegalTech® West Coast 2011 (LTWC) and eDiscoveryDaily is here to report about the latest eDiscovery trends being discussed at the show. Over the next two days, we will provide a description each day of some of the sessions related to eDiscovery to give you a sense of the topics being covered. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, come check out the show – there are a number of sessions (both paid and free) available and over 70 exhibitors providing information on their products and services, including (shameless plug warning!) my company, Trial Solutions, which is previewing a redesigned version 10 release of our linear review application, OnDemand®, prior to release this Saturday.

It starts when you are evaluating and selecting a vendor. Based on your review of a vendor’s qualifications, procedures and technology, along with feedback you’ve received from references, make sure you select a vendor that is likely to do high quality work and that has a good track record. Once a project is underway, look at the vendor’s work to ensure it meets your expectations. This is especially important with work that is labor-intensive. In fact, there are three levels of quality control that you should be doing.

Of all the problems you might have to report to an attorney, the worst may be that you are going to miss a production deadline. Deadlines get missed because document or data collections are larger than expected, the task is more difficult than expected, sufficient technical resources aren’t allocated to the project, or the project simply isn’t staffed properly. Good communication up front with a vendor, and good monitoring throughout a project can minimize the chance of missing deadlines.

Law firms and corporations alike tend to keep data storage devices well beyond what their compliance requirements or business needs actually dictate. These so-called “skeletons in the closet” pose a major problem when the entity gets sued or subpoenaed. All that dusty data is suddenly potentially discoverable. Legal counsel can be proactive and initiate responsible handling of this legacy data by defining a new, defensible information governance process.

Unfortunately, it’s just not possible to know up-front precisely what a litigation support or eDiscovery project will cost. There are too many unknowns, and, therefore, too many opportunities for surprises regarding costs. You can, however, avoid some of those surprises with good upfront communication with the vendor. Here are some steps you can take to prevent surprises and control costs.