The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/43128
needs of law clerks. In the future, we will see an increasing focus on industry certification programs around "case management" capabilities — and possibly even professional certifications such as that of litigation support law clerk. Case Managers Are Born (and Made) At the end of the day, litigation support specialists (whether internal or external) need to have an intimate understanding of the mechanics of the evidentiary machine, a conceptual understanding of the legal process, and the ability to map out how to get from point A to point B. With the right combination of skills, individual law clerks are strong candidates for the litigation support specialist role. It is arguable, however, that as a profession, law clerks make their most valuable contribution when they use their conceptual understanding of the mechanics to drive the evidence management process. In essence, it is their ability to apply technology to each stage of the case in a strategic fashion that will enable them to drive case results. Such specialization will also help to elevate their status on the legal team. While it is inevitable that law clerks will need to ramp up their technology and project management portfolio, they will generally be limited in their IT capabilities and are, ultimately, best suited to dedicating themselves to varying levels of in-house litigation support capabilities and bridging the communication gap between practice groups, IT and vendors when it comes to the effective management of evidence. The specific configuration of law clerks, IT, litigation support and practice groups will depend on the needs, resources, budgets and vision of the firm. In any case, law firms will need to take a more deliberate approach to maximizing the full range of knowledge and skills within their walls. Investments in key personnel will help facilitate the proliferation of differentiating service offerings and support a more systematic approach to delivering value on cases. Further to this point, it will be necessary to ensure law clerks are well educated on electronic evidence management best practices, processes Top 10 Qualities in a Case Manager Candidate With the rapidly changing role that these professionals are expected to play, here are the top areas in which candidates should be proficient. 1 Technology • Is familiar with industry- standard tools • Optimizes the use and demonstrates the value of technology from case inception to trial • Understands chain-of- custody best practices and factors affecting the integrity of metadata • Possesses a command of database structures, capabilities and benefits • Has knowledge of the limitations and challenges of locally managed networks versus cloud offerings 82 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer 2 Project Management • Is comfortable with team and resource management • Provides meaningful reporting • Schedules and achieves critical milestones • Deals well with scope changes • Creates budget and cost management strategies 3 Database Management • Has knowledge of design and maintenance best practices • Maintains integrity of evidence in importing, exporting and manipulation of data for different formats • Is familiar with advanced searching capabilities 4 Communication • Communicates with a variety of professionals • Acts as a translator between "IT speak" and legalese • Leads planning of meetings and participates at client meetings and meet and confers 5 Lateral Thinking • Fosters group brainstorming activities • Takes innovative approaches to systemic or recurring issues • Applies technology in creative ways to achieve desired results