1 / 22

Redefining Roles in Litigation Support

Redefining Roles in Litigation Support. Presented by: Colette Craig, Senior Litigation Technology Specialist Day Pitney LLP Charlotte Riser Harris, Managing Consultant Five Star Legal and Compliance Systems, Inc. Lee McCallister, Of Counsel, Dir. of Practice Technologies Blank Rome LLP.

jin-ratliff
Download Presentation

Redefining Roles in Litigation Support

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Redefining Roles in Litigation Support Presented by: Colette Craig, Senior Litigation Technology Specialist Day Pitney LLP Charlotte Riser Harris, Managing Consultant Five Star Legal and Compliance Systems, Inc. Lee McCallister, Of Counsel, Dir. of Practice Technologies Blank Rome LLP

  2. Definitionsfor the purpose of this presentation • Technical Team • Internal litigation support department • IT • Vendor • Legal Team • Paralegal • Attorney • Secretary and other support staff

  3. In the Paper World . . . . What was the role of the Legal Team? How did the Legal Team interact with the Technical Team?

  4. In the Paper World . . . What was the role of the Technical Team? How did the Technical Team interact with the Legal Team?

  5. Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!

  6. New Legal Team World

  7. The Legal Team – Traditional Approach The lawyer : “The team member best able to perform the task of every other team member, if only they had the time.” The lawyer has: • expertise • certainty • control, and • can successfully shoot from the hip The traditional legal team is exceedingly hierarchical and each member follows the lead (lawyer) to perceive where every other member fits within the pack. Litigation support is outside of the team but is occasionally delegated a task in support of the team.

  8. The Legal Team in a Changing World Electronic communication and record keeping is changing how businesses function and creating discovery challenges for the firms that represent them. New legal rules and advances in litigation technology are forcing legal teams to reconsider their traditional approach. We are witnessing a shift . . . From • Discovery as a sideline or necessary evil • Delay and postpone discovery activities and costs as much as possible • “Give the opponent as little as possible” and in the format most difficult to use To • Discovery as an increasingly significant component of litigation budgets and a client priority • A strategy for required early meet and confer and discovery disclosures • Delivery of information in a reasonably usable format

  9. The Legal Team -- Compelled to Change • Discovery has transitioned from a legal exercise requiring skilled lawyering to a process exercise requiring skilled project management • The scope of the project is no longer visible to the naked eye • Implications of a decision or chosen course of action are no longer intuitively predictable • Growth in the litigation support industry and potential revenue has encouraged investment resulting in virtually unlimited workflow options and decision points • The project often involves multiple vendors with interdependent tasks -- requiring more resources for vendor management • The technical skills and knowledge required are increasingly complex and in constant flux As a consequence, the attorney feels: • Loss of control • Uncertainty • Ineptitude, and, Shots from the hip are likely to be misses with disastrous consequences.

  10. The New Legal Team • The modern discovery project requires a multidisciplinary team and redistribution of roles and responsibilities –- litigation support should transition from task taker to integral part of the team (strategy maker) • There is a greater need for enhanced communication and organizational skill • Paralegal may no longer be the ‘go to’ person for attorneys for part of the discovery process • The entire team needs basic knowledge of • The basic characteristics of images, OCR/full text, native files, metadata, etc. • The basic theory and logic behind litigation support software • Litigation Support should be the expert in these areas • The team should rely proactively upon Litigation Support not just for tasks (support, training, data manipulation) but for planning and strategy • Litigation Support is an integral part of the team!

  11. New Technical Team World

  12. New Technical Team World • Rapidly developing litigation support technology • Non-standard and varied sources of data (e.g. voice mail, PDAs, backup tapes) • Ramifications/implications of integrating client data into firm infrastructure • Unmanageable amount of data

  13. New Technical Team World • More complex databases and processes • More software options with unique and overlapping functions • Different vendor pricing models – difficult to compare apples to apples • Ability (and time) to keep up with new technology and case law

  14. New Technical Team World • Need for a basic knowledge of discovery and litigation • Balancing in-house and outsourced services • QC and follow-up • Dealing with vendors who make mistakes and may or may not be very knowledgeable – can’t just hand them a project and walk away • Manage discovery projects (including vendor relations) • Consult and interface with client IT departments and interpret technical information

  15. New Technical Team World • Lack of conformity in practices between Legal Teams • Ability to strategize, plan and think outside the box – no two projects are alike • Include members of legal team during planning and course of project • Assist with collections (with serious implications) • Complete documentation of processes (with serious implications)

  16. New Technical Team World • Need for creative and innovative thinking • Need for strong communication skills • Communicate with and educate legal team • Extreme attention to detail • Team work

  17. It’s a new world out there. . .

  18. Education and TrainingThis list applies to legal teams and technical teams • Vendor e-discovery classes and websites • Certification courses (paralegal, EDD, software) • Listserv memberships • Attendance at conferences (ILTA, Legal Tech, NFPA) • Subscription to periodicals • Membership and participation in professional organizations • Continuing Legal Education

  19. What Needs to Get Done?

  20. Tips and Thoughts • Clearly define all roles at your firm and for each project • Understand the unique challenges being faced by legal team members • Assist legal teams through the transition • Recognize they are going through a significant change • A positive attitude makes change less painful • Be persistent and approach the education and transition in different ways depending on your audience – be creative!

  21. Tips and Thoughts • Ask questions to be sure you understand the legal team’s perspective or frame • If someone is asking a ‘dumb’ question, they don’t understand something they need to understand • Look for ‘training opportunities’ • Be flexible • Be a team player • Take ownership of the need to educate • Be open-minded – a non-technical solution may be best

  22. Lee McCallister, Of Counsel Director of Practice Technologies mccallister@blankrome.com 215-988-6940 Colette Craig Senior Litigation Technology Specialist ccraig@daypitney.com 860-275-0285 Charlotte Riser Harris Managing Consultant charlotte@fivestarlegal.com 800-699-0199

More Related