Extract from Doug Austin’s article “The Most Common Mistakes Firms Make When Using eDiscovery Platforms”
Most people know me for my blogging, but before I became a full-time blogger over two years ago when I started eDiscovery Today, I was the VP of Products and Services for an eDiscovery software provider which offered several software platforms, including a cloud-based review platform. Blogging was only my “side gig” back then, which is why I only wrote one post per day, instead of the two to three I write now! ;-).
Regardless, during my time working with clients, I saw several mistakes they made in how they used our platform to support their eDiscovery needs. Because of my “Big 8” consulting background (it was so long ago, they were the “Big 8” firms until mergers and attrition reduced them to the “Big 4”), I always took a consultative approach to working with clients and tried to make them aware of the considerations and best practices associated with using the software. Sometimes, they welcomed the advice and either avoided issues or reduced costs (or both). Other times, they did not, and it usually backfired on them.
With that in mind, here are five of the most common mistakes I’ve observed that firms make when using eDiscovery platforms:
Not Asking for Help Soon Enough
We all know many people in the legal community are not tech or eDiscovery savvy, but some legal professionals think they are tech savvy and knowledgeable about the “ins and outs” of eDiscovery when they aren’t. They don’t understand the importance of collecting electronically stored information (ESI) in a forensically sound manner to preserve metadata. They don’t understand how to address the anomalies that may occur in the ESI collection.
