B&L Associates

Exploring new eDiscovery paradigms

October 16, 2011

At the recently held Colorado Association of Litigation Support Professionals' E-Discovery Summit, a number of experts spoke to the importance of evolving beyond traditional, hierarchically designed discovery processes.

According to Law.com, a "top-down," command-focused organizational structure may need to be abandoned for eDiscovery success. Legal teams should instead focus their efforts on internal and external collaboration.

"Only 10 percent of lawyers 'get' eDiscovery," suggested expert panelist William Hamilton, according to the news source. "Hierarchy culture disenfranchises everybody in the operation, and doesn't create a collaborative, collegiate environment."

Hamilton added that companies should have their litigation support professionals take part in the eDiscovery vendor selection process. Also, IT administrators should be welcomed into the discussion so they have a better sense of context and scope when beginning discovery operations.

According to the news provider, communicating with judges and opposing counsel may also pay dividends. Each case is different and some parties will be more willing to use the technology than others in the interest of speeding up legal proceedings.

The market for eDiscovery solutions is already expected to reach $3.5 billion by the end of 2011, according to Socha-Gelman researchers. However, more efficient organizational models may draw increased attention from late adopters and support continued growth.