publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/1514711
I L T A W H I T E P A P E R & S U R V E Y R E S U L T S | L I T I G A T I O N & P R A C T I C E S U P P O R T 6 I L T A ' S 2 0 2 3 L I T I G A T I O N & P R A C T I C E S U P P O R T S U R V E Y R E S U L T S When it comes to outsourcing services by law firms, the metrics are stable with forensic collections being outsourced and the remainder of the litigation support services being retained by the law firms. The explanation for that is simple, many firms do not want to have their internal resources testify or authenticate data collection. As we cannot reliably anticipate which cases are going to be problematic or require authentication at the time of collection, outsourcing provides solutions. Additionally, without dedicated and accredited collections staff, it is becoming more difficult to maintain the expertise necessary to collect from both emerging communications sources, e.g. messaging apps, as well as addressing Microsoft 365 challenges. Targeted Collection Forensic Collection Processing Database Hosting Production <10% 43 12 66 61 69 10-25% 6 2 11 8 14 26 - 50% 9 2 3 4 3 51 - 75% 11 3 6 6 9 76 - 100% 30 80 15 20 7 The metrics for 2023 Outsourced functions are below: The survey asked the types of collections most frequently used as well as the names of the tools used for different types of collections. The method of collection shows us that generally a scorched- earth approach to collection is not the norm and that targeted collection is more frequently used by 56% of the respondents. My experience in 2023 has seen an increase of forensic collection, or at least forensic consulting for collections - as our clients are onboarding new systems, cloud email and otherwise don't have resources to perform the collection. With newer technology tools, the ability to authenticate a collection is needed and a third party is often the best candidate for that. 54% 31% 15%