confidential
CONFIDENTIAL E-discovery Whitepaper Gregory Peterson August, 2013 Abstract According to the GCI “Litigation Outlook 2013”* Survey, only 16 percent of General Counsel respondents said the law firms they retain excel in the practiceof e-Discovery. Among the e-Discovery complaints expressed by these in-house respondents: 1) Excessive expense; 2) Lack of technical knowledge; 3) Poor planning; 4) Lack of experience; 5) Insufficient oversight of third-party vendors; and 6) Ineffective legal strategies to limit the scope of e-Discovery requests. Amid this widespread dissatisfaction, however, there are reasons for optimism. The good news? Despite (or because of) these common complaints, innovative e-Discovery staffing solutions have emerged. And with so much (money, time, careers) at stake, General Counsels now are actively seeking these promising alternatives for staffing their eDiscovery matters.
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Professionalization of e-Discovery Staffing
In the world of litigation, Discovery remains the single largest source of spending — with the rule-of-thumb being that 70 percent of litigation costs now come from Discovery matters. And in today’s business environment Discovery is all about digital records, electronic documents and data: e-Discovery. Since these digital communications (primarily email and word-processed documents) in the workplace have been with us for decades now, one might expect that courts, corporations and law firms all would be well-prepared to deal with related eDiscovery matters. But given the sweeping changes in legal, technological and economic environments, e-Discovery poses greater challenges now than ever before. Effectively managing these e-Discovery challenges is arguably the most important element for a General Counsel’s success today. And the key to that effectiveness lies in the staffing resources brought to bear — their talent, training, judgment and capabilities. This paper will look at recent developments in e-Discovery practices and personnel — and how economic, technological and legal forces have ushered in the “professionalization” of e-Discovery staffing. “We recently were called in to manage a case for a major corporation. This organization had retained a predictive tool and they had a 1
C O V E R PA G E O N L Y
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Professionalization of e-Discovery Staffing
In the world of litigation, Discovery remains the single largest source of spending — with the rule-of-thumb being that 70 percent of litigation costs now come from Discovery matters. And in today’s business environment Discovery is all about digital records, electronic documents and data: e-Discovery. Since these digital communications (primarily email and word-processed documents) in the workplace have been with us for decades now, one might expect that courts, corporations and law firms all would be well-prepared to deal with related eDiscovery matters. But given the sweeping changes in legal, technological and economic environments, e-Discovery poses greater challenges now than ever before. Effectively managing these e-Discovery challenges is arguably the most important element for a General Counsel’s success today. And the key to that effectiveness lies in the staffing resources brought to bear — their talent, training, judgment and capabilities. This paper will look at recent developments in e-Discovery practices and personnel — and how economic, technological and legal forces have ushered in the “professionalization” of e-Discovery staffing. “We recently were called in to manage a case for a major corporation. This organization had retained a predictive tool and they had a 1
C O V E R PA G E O N L Y
