The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/57001
best practices E-Discovery Practice in a Locavore World Managing a Global by Natalie Spano If you research global e-discovery, you'll find volumes of useful articles explaining privacy laws, safe harbor, and language identification and translation strategies. These are all important issues to factor in when planning for a global-scale e-discovery project. But how do you build and maintain a practice group within your firm that can support global e-discovery projects as well as local e-discovery projects? First there is the challenge of managing a multitude of complex projects, each of which requires a herculean effort to keep on track, on budget and on time, while also ensuring you are adhering to "repeatable and defensible processes." In order to support the practice on a global scale you'll also need to consider local privacy laws, cultural differences and jurisdictional requirements. Additionally you'll need to factor in and support the unique needs of each local office, while maintaining a global outlook. Given all of these challenges, it's easy for a global e-discovery practice to spiral out of control as cases and projects are dealt with on an ad hoc basis, where each individual is more concerned with getting the job at hand done than in creating a global practice management group that communicates and works together as one unit. While that may work for a firm in the short term, any organization that wants to compete on an international playing field also needs to be able to perform and think as a global unit. Build Your Base In order to successfully manage e-discovery, you must build a solid foundation — an internal system of best practices and processes that: • Are repeatable • Can be adhered to in every case • Apply to all offices, matters and jurisdictions The only way to keep the thousands of moving parts running smoothly is to build a strong process management system. On top of that, you must use solid project management techniques to routinely evaluate whether you are hitting your targets — tracking and logging every process along the way. 14 Peer to Peer