Digital White Papers

70 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER LITIGATION AND PRACTICE SUPPORT How Ediscovery, Cybersecurity and Privacy Certifications Can Differentiate your Firm and Win Work The white paper goes on to note that certified IT staff members earn 15% more on average than staff without certification. Certifications make employees more desirable by signaling career commitment to their employers, and oen become a key ingredient in an individual's personal brand. Recruiters are more oen searching LinkedIn for the credentials they seek and not just the skills. According to Jared Coseglia of TRU Staffing Partners, "Having a product-specific certification can increase your earning potential in the ediscovery and cyber industries. Not having a certification in the tools requested means you may not even get an interview for elite positions in ediscovery." How to Build a Powerhouse of Certified Pros To get started, look for employees who have already demonstrated proficiency or have an interest in an area where a certification will help. Once individuals are engaged, they need to research available certifications in their area of interest. Research should take into account required experience, cost (including maintenance), expected training hours, examination guidelines and continuing education to maintain the credential. Firms should expect to support these professionals in both on-the-job learning and cost in order to incentivize the additional commitment. Be prepared to provide additional compensation to employees who "go the extra mile" to achieve the certification. Certifications are portable, and individuals who have them make aractive candidates for other firms. Certifications give clients a greater confidence in a law firm's service delivery model. They proclaim that a firm holds its staff to high professional standards and that the firm is deeply commied to them. Firms commied to their staff are seen as commied to clients, too. Clients feel safer and more secure in the hands of certified professionals. The race to win work is oen a game of inches: every advantage counts. While certifications will never be the only consideration, they have potential to be a secondary differentiator that leads to an award of work. For individuals, certifications are automatic wins for professional development and career growth. ILTA JANICE JACO Janice Jaco, ACEDS 2015 eDiscovery Person of the Year, is a senior eDiscovery Project Manager for boutique litigation powerhouse Keesal, Young & Logan. Janice's professional volunteer work includes extensive involvement in authoring LTC4's eDiscovery Core Competency, participation in ACEDS' CEDS Exam Standard Setting Exercise, and updating ACEDS' University online content. Janice is currently a member of ILTA's Litigation & Practice Support Content Team and recently completed the BARBRI Cybint courses in Cyber Protection and Intelligence.

• Cover