E-discovery certification gets ringing endorsement from Boies, Schiller partner

The case for e-discovery certification got a broad, detailed endorsement last month from Boies, Schiller & Flexner partner Douglass Mitchell in a recent article in Los Angeles Lawyer magazine. Here is a summary of 16 key points he makes, followed by a link to the full article. (The headings are written by ACEDS):

Digital age brings ‘problems of competency in legal community’

1.    “Transition to evidence… digitally created, communicated, and stored has resulted in problems of competency in the legal community.”

E-discovery training ‘almost nonexistent’

2.    "Lawyers… rely heavily on nonlawyers, including support staff and vendors, to perform e-discovery work…."

3.    "Formal e-discovery training programs are almost nonexistent."

Staff and vendor selection is now ‘trial and error’

4.    "Locating competent support staff and vendors is fraught with uncertainty."

5.    "With so much riding on those who collect, cull, and distill large volumes of (ESI), lawyers should not be forced to find support staff and vendors through trial and error or word of mouth."

6.    "Lawyers need an effective and efficient way to identify people who possess the skills and qualifications… to meet the… obligations…."

Everyone benefits from rigorous, objective certification by ‘independent, reputable’ entity

7.    "Given the… sophisticated, rapidly evolving issues…, the time has come for the legal profession to… adopt an e-discovery certification program."

8.    "A rigorous, objective certification program administered by an independent, reputable organization that is recognized profession wide would benefit everyone who participates in providing legal services involving (ESI)."

Certification spawns people  with ‘interdisciplinary skills’

9.    "A professionally meaningful certification program would encourage more people to develop the interdisciplinary skills needed to perform e-discovery work."

Certification increases ‘quality of work’

10.   "As more people become qualified to handle (ESI), the quality of work will also increase."

Certification identifies ‘qualified’ people

11.  "E-discovery certifications would help identify staff and vendors who are qualified to perform needed tasks."

Certification increases lawyer ‘confidence’ in assignments

12. "Lawyers could then be more confident that work assigned to those people will be done effectively, efficiently, and accurately."

Certified persons are more ‘marketable,’ have greater ‘credibility’

13.   "Certification would make holders more marketable and give… them credibility by assuring potential employers or clients that (they are) qualified to perform the job or task for which he or she is being hired."

Certification results in ‘lower costs,’ ‘higher-quality work’

14.   "Clients would benefit. Overall, e-discovery costs would generally be lower, and the quality of work would be higher. Expensive or prejudicial mistakes would be fewer. And unnecessary discovery disputes could be avoided."

Lawyers would better meet ‘client needs’ by employing ‘qualified’ people

15.   "In the near future, lawyers will find it more difficult to meet their client’s needs unless they employ people who are qualified to handle e-discovery."

Independent, professionally-recognized certification is ‘essential’

16.  "An e-discovery certification program recognized profession wide and administered by an independent organization is essential to ensuring that those who provide legal services are qualified to handle… digitally created evidence."

Click here to read the complete piece in the December 2010 issue of Los Angeles Lawyer magazine, published by the Los Angeles County Bar Association. The author of the piece has no affiliation with ACEDS.