Getting the Most out of your eDiscovery Vendor Relationships
Tap your eDiscovery vendor for information and insights – their knowledge can help shape your strategy.
For many, the word “vendor” generates images of a smarmy sales person trying to get you to use the newest widget to tackle an ever increasing volume of data. While that may be the case for a certain number of solution providers in the market, more often than not, professionals in the eDiscovery space have much more to offer. There are wide arrays of low and no-cost resources that can be tapped today to begin this evolution within your eDiscovery team. In the age of eDiscovery 2.0, leading-edge technologies and rapidly evolving case law, your vendor can serve as a resource and an ally if you fully leverage their capabilities.
Case Law and Best Practices
Over the last decade, electronic discovery has been a dynamic and rapidly changing space. eDiscovery service providers that have stayed on top have to stay up to date on case law, best practices and industry changes and trends. These providers often offer a number of resources, from white papers to workflows, case synopsis and articles on the trends in the eDiscovery space. It is in both the service provider and your firm’s interests for practitioners to be knowledgeable of the twist and turns that the market has taken. Whether you are looking for an analysis of the recent predictive analytics focused Da Silva Moore case or an estimate of the number of documents that are in a gigabyte, service providers’ websites are a wealth of relevant information.
Nearly all of the large eDiscovery solution providers offer webinars, white papers and case studies that discuss varying aspects of the eDiscovery space. Many times senior members of highly ranked vendors are former practitioners and understand the unique challenges that your team may face. Solution providers want their potential customers to be savvy and comfortable with the emerging tools in the market, and if your team pulls resources from multiple providers and resources, there is a wealth of readily available information.
eDiscovery Blogs
Vendor-specific and agnostic eDiscovery blogs are everywhere. Most are frequently updated and focused on evolving trends. Industry experts freely fill these blogs with insightful and useful practical and theoretical analysis of case law, market trends and technology driving the evolution of eDiscovery 2.0. Vendor specific blogs certainly may need to be taken with a grain of salt regarding which tool makes the most sense to use. However, when it comes to overall trends, case law and non-tool specific analysis, they are a vast, free repository of tools and information that can elevate your current team’s competency at no cost to the firm.
Training & Certification
The various providers of eDiscovery solutions want their clients to understand how to effectively leverage their tools, solutions and people and are typically more than happy to offer complimentary training on their platforms or host discussions with your team. Major providers of tools like Relativity, Kroll OnTrack, Recommind, etc., offer certification programs for their clients and want to ensure that users understand how to best leverage their tools for a successful document review. These providers can educate your team, whether remotely or in person, on how best to leverage their tools. Often they are fully prepared to act as expert witnesses before the bench if the protocols or efficacy of a tool is questioned.
Whether your firm is sophisticated and tech savvy or just entering the eDiscovery space, there are a broad spectrum of resources available. Attorneys in various practice areas have an increasing likelihood of encountering eDiscovery in this technology-laden business space. These tools offer a low cost means of ensuring that you are up to speed.
Share Your Thoughts… Do you have a favorite eDiscovery information resource? Post a link and tell us why!
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