Become an eDiscovery Architect:
More often than not, we get caught up on material price causing projects to become “penny-wise and pound-foolish.” Budget constraints are one of the most impactful factors in the eDiscovery industry. The concern with establishing and meeting budgets has increased. Having an eDiscovery architect is a great way to manage budgets while continuing to be successful.
“Architect” is not a defined role in the eDiscovery industry, but having these skills lend to tremendous career growth. Anyone can become an eDiscovery architect – litigation support, attorneys, or service providers. Here are a few ways to grow your role as architect.
Put Your Foundation in Place
Take responsibility for creating the “blueprints” (aka workflows), building out budgets, and defining key milestones. Working with management helps build budgets with concrete assumptions and expectations. Create workflows that are well designed and best suit the specific eDiscovery or collection matter at hand. Identify key vendor partners, internal stakeholders, and client stakeholders that will be needed to execute your plan. When starting this foundation phase, it’s okay if you don’t have all the information right away. Creating a “blueprint” will allow all parties to start on the same page, keep the project on course, and keep everyone in the loop. As the project progresses and the more information is learned, you can tweak your plan to fit the project needs.
Find the Right Tool for the Trade
Start evaluating the tools and weigh the tradeoff of different tools. Having your workflow ideas and foundation laid out, it is easier to understand what tools will be necessary to move forward. You will even be able to easier identify areas where costs can be saved. Keep in mind while complex matters need more complex, and expensive tools, investing in these tools can keep the overall cost of review down.
Contract the Right People
Choosing eDiscovery Project Managers is an important part of the process. If a case need heavy use of AI or analytics, you would choose a vendor or team member that has expertise in this area. They can advise you about technical and legal pitfalls which saves time and money. Putting together a team that can execute and make daily adaptations to your plan adds real value to your “blueprint.”
eDiscovery projects can be six-figure endeavors. Organizations are constantly looking for more ways to efficient and cost effective. Having the ability to help organizations achieve those goals makes you an invaluable part of their team and their success.
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