Managing E-Discovery Consultants and Vendors Wisely

Some sources estimate that the e-discovery consultant market is presently $3 billion and growing.

Close attorney supervision, good communication and strategic foresight remain necessary, however, to a successful relationship among the litigant, counsel and the e-vendor. Litigants and counsel must also certify the results of a vendor's work, and responsibilities under the procedural rules cannot simply be delegated away.

Vendors serve important functions: identifying available electronically stored information; translating information to a form that may be read or understood without actually changing the data; transferring information to an appropriate medium for production during the litigation process; and assisting with forensic analysis if necessary.

"Electronically stored information" under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and 34, and similar state rules, is broadly defined.

E-discovery vendors are able to provide expertise in identifying information, using sophisticated software to winnow duplicative or irrelevant information, to access it, and to translate it to a communicable form without changing delicate metadata or other information.

A vendor is able to canvass key employees in a streamlined manner and can efficiently identify relevant data-mines and the information needed for preservation.