Top 4 Picks for eDiscovery Training

By Sarah Ledgerwood

In case you missed it, ediscovery has gone mainstream. When I graduated from law school many eons ago and ultimately landed my first job in the legal technology field, I had never heard of ediscovery and neither had anyone I knew. And let’s just say that among the hours and hours of studying antiquated case law, ediscovery, or technology in general, definitely weren’t a part of anything I learned during my law school journey.

Fast forward to present day and ediscovery is no longer that niche, unknown field with zero to little available training options. Law schools are embracing ediscovery as part of their regular legal technology curriculum while more and more state bar associations are amending their ethical conduct rules to make competence in technology a fundamental obligation of lawyers.

It’s clear that beyond traditional legal training, making sure you’re up to speed on technology, and particularly, ediscovery, is a critical component of becoming a competent legal professional. So what ediscovery training options are out there? Here are my top four picks whether you’re new to the field or an ediscovery veteran.

1. Association of Certified eDiscovery Specialist (ACEDS) – ACEDS is the premier organization for ediscovery education, and the training and certification options are plentiful. If you’re new to ediscovery, I would highly recommend becoming an ACEDS member and promptly enrolling in the ACEDS eDiscovery Essentials course. This course provides a foundation for the entire ediscovery process and you’ll knock out 12 CLE credits as a bonus. If you’re already an ediscovery professional and looking for more advanced training, ACEDS also offers CEDS certification that is very well respected in the field, as well as an Executive Certificate program.

• Sedona Conference – The Sedona Conference is an educational and research institute that’s synonymous with the greatest legal minds who work to advance the law of ediscovery in the US. On the ediscovery front, the conference provides Working Groups that take a deep dive into ediscovery, data privacy, data security, and technology law in general. Joining one of the Conference’s Working Groups is a great way to be on the forefront of ediscovery and learn directly from like-minded professionals. Ultimately, getting involved in the Conference will provide not only training opportunities, but boost your access to opportunities in the field that will help you become an established ediscovery thought leader.

• Women in eDiscovery (WiE) – WiE is an amazing organization of women professionals who are active in ediscovery and interested in advancing training and networking opportunities in our industry. The organization has grown so much in the past several years that it held its first-ever national conference this year, an event that provided two days of training across the most cutting edge ediscovery and legal tech topics, as well as a plethora of networking opportunities. Consider attending next year’s conference and you’ll find yourself exposed to ideas and topics that could fill a year’s worth of training. You can also get involved in your local WiE chapter as either a participant or someone who’s at the forefront of creating new and unique training opportunities.

• Industry Events – From Relativity Fest to Legaltech to ILTA, there are so many ediscovery conferences and events now that it’s hard to keep up! Near and dear to my heart and at the top of my list of “must attend” events is Relativity Fest, which combines an enormous amount of substantive ediscovery education along with great fun over the course of a few days. From my time on the ediscovery conference circuit, I’ve met and made lifelong friends in the ediscovery world and those connections alone have provided continual exposure to training opportunities.

These are just a small selection of the many ediscovery training opportunities ready for you to add to your expanding legal technology education repertoire. If you have further thoughts, suggestions, or would like to discuss more details on any of the above with me, please get in touch at SLedgerwood@lighthouseglobal.com or Twitter @sarahewood. I’d love to hear from you!