The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/480238
WWW.ILTANET.ORG 47 they measure litigation support's value by their ability to be subject-matter experts overseeing the e-discovery process. The good news for project managers within litigation support departments is they can mature into less tactical and more consultative roles, but this also means there will be drastically less hiring for both analysts and project managers at law firms. Meanwhile, vendors must hire more project managers in 2015 to meet client demand, but they will not pay excessive salaries to acquire that talent. Profit margins are different with managed service contracts; vendors need more talent at less expensive salaries to ensure the financial success of long-term contracts. This creates opportunity for up-and-comers in the industry with two to four years of experience. In 2015, law firms will want to hire project managers from other law firms' litigation support groups, and vendors will want to hire from competitors in the vendor space. The cultures between law firms and vendors is so dynamically different that neither will want to risk an unsuccessful hire due to inability to acclimate, and they will favor someone who has "been there before." IT'S ALL RELATIVE: PROPRIETARY TOOLS In e-discovery, the service provider world can be divided into three categories: 1. Relativity providers 2. Proprietary providers 3. Hybrid proprietary/Relativity providers Because of market demand, companies that traditionally stayed exclusive to their hosting tools have since integrated a Relativity offering into their service, most notably Kroll Ontrack and LexisNexis. point where this model can become the standard practice for most law firms in the Am Law 200. The "managed services play" is to capture a client's revenue for the next several years with an exclusive master service agreement to have the ability to predict revenues, box out competitors and scale human capital to suit annualized client needs. This creates a healthier business model because the vendor gets "stickier" with the client as they indoctrinate each other to their companies' cultures, protocols and data infrastructures. These relationships reflect the old adage that marriage is more enriching than dating. The business relationship between managed service provider and client becomes an intimate one, and once a bond is formed (and the data is being hosted externally), it is hard to usurp that relationship if you are a competitor. However, this model also means that the vendor is discounting pricing and cutting costs to maintain profit margins on managed service contracts. MOVING OUT: JOBS WITH VENDORS In 2015, there will be significantly more jobs for legal technology professionals at service providers and consultancies than within law firms and corporations. Even with more corporations hiring in-house, the volume of corporate hiring pales compared to available opportunities with vendors. With over 40 percent of law firms adopting managed service models for e-discovery, many of the more technical roles, such as analyst, programmer, hosting support and project management, are shifting to the provider side. Law firms with managed service models are not typically concerned with their internal litigation support departments generating revenue through transactional e-discovery services; rather, About the Author Jared Coseglia is the founder and President of TRU Staffing Partners and has been a go-to individual in the legal technology staffing and recruiting field for the past 13 years. He has successfully placed over 1,700 people in full-time and temporary positions. Jared is a published and active voice in the litigation support and e-discovery community. TRU celebrates its five-year anniversary this year Contact Jared at jared@trustaffingpartners.com. In 2015, you will see many companies offering Relativity and developing barnacle- like proprietary technology for Relativity to differentiate themselves in the market. Having Relativity administrative skills or an RCA will make you more marketable. 2015 will see an increased demand for Relativity project managers, analysts and coordinators — not only among vendors, but also in law firms and corporations that host enterprise Relativity licenses in-house. Many companies are now using the Relativity processing engine. This trend will continue, and the ability to process seamlessly in Relativity will be a valuable skill set in the short term. However, because there is now more available talent with Relativity skills, salaries for these professionals will stay strong and steady rather than accelerate rapidly in 2015. Inversely, firms and corporations who have committed to other proprietary tools like Viewpoint, iCONECT or Ringtail may be more willing to pay a premium for professionals who have those skill sets, as they are not as widely found in lower-salaried professionals. In 2015, there will be an extreme premium for Relativity Infrastructure Certified Experts, though few jobs or people with this need/ certification exist right now. For legal IT professionals with deep SQL skills, now is a good time to transition to e-discovery and look into this certification. PREPARE FOR TOMORROW Whether you work in the world of e-discovery or another part of the legal profession, these are the roles and trends to keep an eye on. It was an exciting year in 2014. Expect more changes (and opportunities) throughout 2015.