Becoming the Linchpin: How E-Discovery is Changing the Role of Paralegals

Exterro Basics of E-Discovery Guide

Often, when you think of the role of a paralegal, things like drafting documents, scheduling meetings, and taking notes come to mind. But that's so 20th century. In reality, the role of paralegals is rapidly evolving, with traditional responsibilities being augmented or even replaced by new focus areas and opportunities for advancement. E-Discovery is playing a significant role in these changing responsibilities.

More and more, in-house e-discovery teams require a dedicated project manager to coordinate operations between the team members with more specialized roles—namely attorneys and IT experts. Often this role is filled by paralegals, many of whom bring the best of both worlds to the table: a background in law and legal procedure along with tech savvy, making them perfect for the job.

The recently-published 2021 Chief Legal Officers Survey found that this year, paralegal position hires are poised to grow by 20%. With the importance of the role of the paralegal on the rise, let's take a quick look at what the position entails and why it's becoming so popular within organizations.

Defining Roles and Responsibilities

E-discovery projects rely on contributions from an array of professionals who have other day-to-day responsibilities, so roles and responsibilities must be clearly and carefully defined, or work simply will not get done. Paralegals function as the glue that binds the team together.

There are various ways companies handle the role breakdown:

• Specialization: Specific members of a given team (Legal, IT, or a business unit) are responsible for e-discovery activities.
• Broad Approach: A variety of people from each department are expected to be proficient in e-discovery and prepared to handle requests as needed.

Documenting the Process

Having a well-documented process helps ensure that individual tasks get done correctly and efficiently. It should be process-specific and highly detailed—a playbook of sorts. This ensures that when people switch roles or leave the company, there is an authoritative resource to guide the way.

But the playbook can’t be static. Make it a priority to:

• Review and update it regularly.
• Seek feedback from the larger team on what works.
• Reflect any changes made "on the fly."
• Update instructions whenever new systems, such as legal hold or collection tools, are incorporated.

Exterro's Comprehensive Guide to E-Discovery Workflows is a great place to start if you're looking to nail down these roles.

Incorporating Technology into the Process

Technology can help repair a broken process, but it can also create a new set of problems if it’s not deployed thoughtfully. When implementing new technology, ask yourself:

• How have roles and responsibilities changed?

• Are certain steps under the old process now rendered obsolete?

• Can previously isolated tasks be consolidated into one action?

• How much user training is needed?

A poorly planned roll-out can lead to workarounds that threaten process cohesion. Bringing new technology requires buy-in across the org chart and within the IT department. If you need help starting that journey, check out our Guide to Buying E-Discovery Software.

Exterro IT Infrastructure Playbook

Conclusion

As companies increasingly look to bring e-discovery in-house, the opportunity for paralegals to assume a position of leadership is only expanding. By focusing on process consistency and technology adoption, you can become the linchpin for your team and the larger enterprise.

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