The Bottom Line is the Bottom Line: Three Ways for Cutting Costs Across the Stages of E-Discovery

E-Discovery is often viewed as being a niche in the larger legal world. It’s often an ancillary topic in law schools, and according to one respondent in a recent Exterro survey, “Most lawyers view e-discovery as akin to janitorial work. It is not seen as difficult or prestigious.” But forward looking companies are seeing the importance of e-discovery, not only from the standpoint of avoiding problematic litigation, but as being a part of achieving the larger goals of the enterprise, particularly in the areas of Legal, IT, and Business Operations.

A solid e-discovery process most obviously benefits the Legal Department, whose main objective, when it comes to discovery, is getting to the facts of the case as quickly as possible, while at the same time staying defensible when it comes to data collection.

In order to get to that data, Legal must work closely with IT in order to know where data lives and what forms it takes, as well as how to get to that data in a quick and efficient manner. Even outside of the framework of litigation, Legal and IT must continually work together when it comes to data management, retention policies, and employee movements, so that when litigation does arise, the goal of getting to the facts of the case is easily met.

Finally, and maybe the most often overlooked role of e-discovery is within business operations. We live in a digital world, and a large corporation creates an enormous amount of data each year. The ability to search, collect, and manage this data not only affects the company in the case of litigation, but can affect the company when it comes to compliance, security, and cost.

So the bottom line is, well, the bottom line. Most of us, in the end, are driven by costs and return on investment. If someone came to us and said, I can save you a significant amount of money and time if you take these steps, we tend to perk up and listen. This is what many company leaders are looking at when it comes to e-discovery. Legal gets the facts of the case quickly and defensibly. IT gains more efficient access and security with the company’s data. And the company itself saves time and money, while being more able to accomplish the overall goals of the enterprise. It’s a win/win/win situation for everyone involved.

In Exterro’s latest white paper, you’ll find ways to gain cost savings by:

• Knowing Where Costs Lie Across the E-Discovery Process
• Knowing How to Track and Leverage Metrics Across the E-Discovery Process
• Knowing How to Utilize Technology and Legal Project Management Across the E-Discovery Process

Things have shifted over the past few years, and now there’s a clear need to showcase cost savings and reasonable approaches, while balancing ethical, professional, and fiduciary obligations or duties. Companies that innovate need to keep control of their data as much as they can while remaining defensible.

From this shift, e-discovery has rapidly gone from being in the forensic realm to the project management realm, thanks to new e-discovery tools becoming much more user friendly, and newer attorneys coming up who are much more technologically savvy. And automation allows companies to do this in a repeatable, documented manner, so there are fewer opportunities for error and more opportunities for efficiency.

The more you automate, the more you free up your human resources so they can continue the work of furthering the goals of the entire company. Look at your vendor spend. Look at the efficiency or inefficiency of your in-house support. Look at how much time people are spending on tracking down where data resides. Look at how often are you repeating the same exercises every single time there's a case that technology could automate for you.

Reducing spend through an orchestrated e-discovery process unifies the fractures and fragments in the current e-discovery process. It’s a point of maturity, but it’s also within reach.