eDiscovery has a reputation for being messy, complex and expensive. Every year, data volumes continue to explode, data types become more sophisticated, new privacy regulations loom and AI technology beams brightly on the horizon. What’s more, expectations of law firm clients for greater efficiency, cost-effective strategies and expertise further intensify the complexity, demanding new ways to simplify eDiscovery activities that will result in predicting and reducing time and costs.
This post is the first in a series that will describe how a managed services model can introduce efficiency, predictability and standardization into the complicated world of eDiscovery at your firm. Using the arrangement that Morrison & Foerster designed and implemented nearly three years ago with our service provider, Epiq, I will describe how we developed a successful managed services model out of basic project management principles together with the technical expertise of our provider.
Beginning with a mental image of what a managed services model looks like – a map - I will describe the benefits of utilizing workflows. In eDiscovery, it's all about getting data from here to there – from this format to that format - so mapping out milestones as the data flows through the process is a great way to anticipate deadlines and introduce some predictability into your processes. Workflows are also supported by templates, a communication tool used to make requests about your data with standardized language.
What do you do when you encounter glitches in your workflow? How do you handle events that interrupt the flow of data, that create bottlenecks and prohibit the data from getting from here to there? The philosopher John Dewey once wrote, “A problem well put is half solved.” Acknowledging that a problem has occurred by tracking it on an issues log is the first step towards resolution. Then, discussing the issues with your managed service provider on regular relationship calls sets you up for solving the other half of the problem, including successful process improvement.
And of course, there's no talking about issues without coming right up against who was doing what to contribute to those issues. In the next blog entry, I’ll address how projects are staffed, the roles and responsibilities that are required, and making sure the right people are working on the right job. One of the biggest variables in the managed services models among law firms involves how much of the work is done by firm analysts and how much is done by the service provider. So I’ll discuss the considerations that we used to make our decisions about the model that we chose around staffing.
Staffing concerns are of course focused on resources of the human variety (“human resources” as opposed to “data resources” like software or equipment). A critical aspect of working with humans is how we communicate with each other, including the soft skills required to build solid, respectful, long-term relationships. Gone are the days when law firms employees can threaten vendors by telling them they will just go to another vendor. In managed services, that doesn't work in the same way. You are both committed. So this blog entry will focus on some of the soft skills and techniques for developing the most productive relationship and getting the best work out of it.
Balancing soft skills with hard skills is imperative. And nothing is harder, or more concrete, than how you manage costs for your clients and your firm by making your monthly subscription dollars go as far as you can stretch them and enhancing the value for those dollars every month. In this section, I'll describe subscription based services in general, with some tips about how MoFo approaches it.
On the heels of discussing the subscription model will be a broader discussion about monthly reporting the law firm receives from the service provider. This is where you really get to see how your decisions and systems are working financially – and where you need to make adjustments. This new area of business analysis can be creative and dynamic, where you can not only see trends in your environment, but influence them.
Finally, with a well-oiled machine humming along, a close relationship with a managed services provider gives you a team of experts that are on the front lines of litigation technology. The last blog entry will discuss how working with a team of managed services experts is keeping us aware of the latest and greatest tools, so we can regularly evaluate how we can improve. Since change is imminent in our industry, why not use it to improve, instead of just playing catch up?
So, there’s an overview about what I aim to cover over the next several weeks. I hope this will be meaningful information for you, that it will be as pleasurable for you to read as it is for me to write and most importantly, that my appreciation for the framework and techniques we have used in our managed services environment is translated into something that you can take and use to consider for your firm, either big picture concepts or discreet techniques. Thank you for reading and for following along this journey with me.
Until next time!
#LitigationSupportoreDiscovery