Extract from Rhys Dipshan’s article “The E-Discovery Identity Crisis”
For many law firms, it’s been decades since e-discovery transformed from an afterthought into a full-fledged practice area. But even today, some are still unsure of their place in the e-discovery marketplace.
After all, it’s not just law firms and legal tech companies serving corporate clients’ e-discovery needs anymore. There’s also alternative legal service providers, which strive to be a holistic combination of their two counterparts. Corporate clients, too, have become more sophisticated and demanding: Modern legal departments know how much technology has evolved, and how prices should reflect that. They understand the risks of e-discovery done poorly, and how to do more of it themselves. And they know it’s a buyer’s market out there.
Amid these heightened expectations, ALSPs, unencumbered by traditional legal structures such as hourly billing or a long-held resistance to technology, are giving law firms’ e-discovery businesses a run for their money.
