With the proliferation of electronic information, it is important to be prepared to be pro-active earlier in the proceeding to address how discovery will be tackled. It is a great advantage to have an ‘eDiscovery champion’ in your organisation.
Gone are the days where the discovery logistics were passed to a junior team member. Sure, this may have been justifiable in a paper-based world, or with a small volume of electronic documents – but not these days !
So much has changed, and continues to do so
How we undertake eDiscovery today is different to two years ago, five years ago and especially 10 years ago, and will continue to evolve.
The discovery process continues to be an integral part of any litigation or investigation. However, today’s data volumes continue to increase rapidly, providing new and evolving challenges for all. Unless effectively undertaken the costs and burden of the discovery process can easily (and quickly) spiral out of control.
To address these challenges, we now need to work smarter to facilitate a method of getting to the most important information quickly, cost effectively and accurately.
Simplifying the discovery process
Your eDiscovery champion can be your ‘go to’ for advice and support around eDiscovery. They should be able simplify your discovery process, bring ideas that can save time and money.
The eDiscovery champion should help to make a lawyer’s job easier.
The eDiscovery champion should be able to clearly communicate the eDiscovery requirements and considerations and do so early in the process. This person will be a vital cog in your approach, but also allow the legal team to focus on other important areas of managing the case, knowing they have someone that can ensure they are looking after the eDiscovery side.
This does not mean learning to code, or knowing everything ‘under the bonnet’ with IT, as it is skills like problem solving, and communicating often complex issues in an easy to understand way with your legal team and client.
With the importance of eDiscovery, we are seeing the emergence of new eDiscovery roles + new skills. The eDiscovery roles can be an exciting new career opportunity – for those legally qualified and those not lawyers !
More than just product certifications
Your eDiscovery champion needs a lot more than product specific eDiscovery certifications that are provided by the software companies.
The skill is how to solve a problem, not necessarily only knowing how to use one software product.
Your eDiscovery champion will be expected to keep on top of the eDiscovery software options available, together with the evolving practices to manage the increasing data volumes. In doing so they will help their organisation be best prepared to manage their eDiscovery requirements. They will help to inform you what your competitors are doing – is it giving them an advantage over you !
You cannot stand still
No matter your current approach to eDiscovery, you cannot stand still, as practices and processes are evolving all the time. Even in the past few years, some of the practices that were commonplace have changed dramatically and will continue to do so.
We have so much still to learn.
It is important to remain curious and open to change. We should continue to ask – how can we do this better?
To ensure you are best equipped to manage the discovery process efficiently and effectively, having an eDiscovery champion in your organisation is a great start !
If you don’t have someone within your organisation, make sure you can have access to specialist expertise as and when required.
