Teaming up for E-Discovery

Teaming up for E-Discovery

Together Everyone Achieves More … in e-discovery? It seems obvious — or does it? A recent Above the Law article outlines how a team approach helps counsel not only achieve what they need in discovery faster but also for less.

Whether partner or associate, litigation support professional, paralegal, technologist or project manager, everyone’s skills contribute to increasing the speed and reducing the cost of discovery. A team approach requires the presence of all members integral to the discovery process, plus clear communication. For example, counsel must invite the litigation support specialist to the table while on a call or discussing data sources during custodian interviews. It’s during these interviews and targeted discovery that cost control can occur. The litigation support specialist should no longer have “detailed checklists to identify sources of ESI at a client without knowing which of those sources may actually be important in the litigation.”

“Litigation support professionals know technology. They know what’s hard about getting data from certain sources, and they know how to use the technology they have to get to what you need and organize it how you need it — if you tell them what you need.”

The article further recommends a team meeting at the outset of a matter, one that covers the scope of what’s needed and where to find it. It also summarizes what happens when there’s a team approach and the team is in sync.

“When your entire team is on the same page about what the case is about and what you are looking for, they can each leverage their skills with strategy or technology to get to The Good Stuff.”

While a team approach that includes meetings with multiple individuals may appear costly to a client at first, it’s important to convey, says the article, that the ROI will be worthwhile: narrowing the focus faster and the chance for more favorable results. The team approach can also be of particular benefit to those firms working with flat fees or reduced rates.

For more ideas and best practices related to teamwork between inside and outside counsel, see the slides from our webinar “Forming a Seamless Relationship: Tactics for Facilitating Collaboration Between Inside and Outside Counsel“.

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