B&L Associates

Balancing eDiscovery practitioners and technologies

February 7, 2012

Efficient and affordable eDiscovery is a multifaceted equation, and companies relying too heavily on one variable at the expense of another may be setting themselves up for failure. As the practice continues to mature, most media management specialists are coming to learn that the secret lies in striking a balance between not just legal and IT departments, but rather people and processes.

What sets eDiscovery apart from traditional document review processes is, of course, the digital component. Instead of sifting through stacks of invoices, companies are navigating gigabytes of data.

"Electronic discovery depends primarily on technology to identify, preserve, collect, process, filter and review data," explained industry experts Howard Reissner and Daryl Shetterly in the latest issue of The Young Lawyer. "Technology that was adequate for these tasks only a few years ago is now outdated as newer tools emerge and data stores become increasingly complex."

However, innovative storage strategies and search tools are only as effective as the media management professionals responsible for their execution. As such, a large component of eDiscovery is managing talent and placing practitioners in situations where they can excel.

To guide companies in the right direction, Law.com contributor Dalton Young recently highlighted the common missteps that can send document review processes over budget and out of sorts.

One of the biggest mistakes, Dalton noted, is the failure to set a firm timetable for eDiscovery processes. Not only will this ensure consistent progress toward the end goal, it can can help eliminate the unfortunate consequences of unplanned turnover from practitioners who were not initially aware of the time commitment required.

Additionally, Dalton suggested that many companies neglect the important step of educating reviewers on the context of the case. Arming practitioners with more than just a set of simple keywords can help them build important logical connections and even highlight potential breakthroughs that would have otherwise been overlooked.