Self-Service eDiscovery:

Recently, self-service has been a significant topic in the world of eDiscovery. With data ever-increasing, firms are trying to increase their control over the eDiscovery process and its associated costs. One way firms achieve this is by utilizing self-service eDiscovery tools. These tools help maintain control over work queues and provide insight into specific reporting.

Self-service tools were initially introduced to serve firms that didn’t require traditional full eDiscovery services for all matters. Self-service can also handle multiple terabytes of data now. This allows internal teams much more leverage and accessibility not previously experienced. However, there are still instances in which a “smaller” matter unexpectedly grows and needs a full-service team.

In these instances, it is important to understand when a firm should continue to use their self-service tools or handoff the matter to a full-service eDiscovery team. Firms should put a process in place so once a small matter becomes too large, they can seamlessly transfer the data. Before a protocol can be created, a firm must understand the team’s capabilities. Important questions to ask are: how many people are on the team, what are their roles, what are their strengths, what is their collective bandwidth, is the firm staffed for 24/7 support or additional requests.

After these questions are addressed, it is time to evaluate which part of the process benefits the most by outsourcing. Some questions to consider: who does the firm call for any eDiscovery related needs, does the firm have a current service provider, is this provider meeting the firm’s needs.

Once the evaluation is completed, the process should be made official. Everyone at the firm should be clear on the process, the protocols, and the guidelines. Creating a playbook or standard operating procedure manual is a safe way to ensure the information is easily accessible to all employees.

Accomplishing all these steps and creating a process for self-service vs. outsourcing for full-service will allow any size eDiscovery matters to be handled with ease and efficiency.

 

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