Self-Service eDiscovery for Corporations: Three Tips for a Successful Implementation

Given the proliferation of data and evolving variety of data sources, in-house counsel teams are beginning to exhaust resources managing increasingly complex case data. Self-service eDiscovery legal technology offers a compelling solution.

Consider the impact of inefficiencies faced by in-house counsel, today - from waiting for vendors to load data or provide platform access, to scrambling, to keeping up with advancing technologies, and managing data security risks - it’s a lot. The average in-house counsel team isn’t just dealing with these inefficiencies on large litigations, they’re encountering these issues in even the smallest compliance and internal investigations matters.

Self-service solutions offer an opportunity to streamline eDiscovery programs, allowing in-house legal teams to get back to the business of case management and legal counseling. It’s understandable we’re witnessing more and more companies moving to this model.

So, once your organization has decided it is ready to step into the future and take advantage of the benefits self-service eDiscovery solutions have to offer, what’s next? Below, I’ve outlined three best practices for implementing a self-service eDiscovery solution within your organization. While any organizational change can seem daunting at the outset, keeping the below tips in mind will help your company seamlessly move to a self-service model.

1. Define how you leverage your self-service eDiscovery solution to scale with ease.

One of the key benefits of a quality self-service solution is that it puts your organization back in the eDiscovery driver’s seat. You decide what cases you will handle internally, with the advantage of having access to an array of eDiscovery expertise and matter management services when needed, even if that need arises in the middle of an ongoing matter. Cloud-based self-service solutions can readily handle any amount of data, and a quality self-service solution provider will be able to seamlessly scale up from self-service to full-service without any interruption to case teams.

Having a plan in place regarding how and when you will leverage each of these benefits (i.e. self-service vs. full-service) will help you manage internal resources and implement a pricing model that fits your organization’s needs.

2. Select a pricing model that works for your organization.

Every organization’s eDiscovery business is different and self-service pricing models should reflect that. After determining how your organization will ideally leverage a self-service platform, decide what pricing model works best for that type of utilization. Self-service solution providers should be able to provide a variety of licensing options to choose from, from an a la cart approach to subscription and transaction models.

Prior to communicating with your potential solution provider, define how you plan to leverage a self-service solution to meet your needs. Then you can consider the type of support you require to balance your caseload with team resources and prepare to talk to providers about whether they can accommodate that pricing. Once you have on-boarded a self-service solution, be sure to continue to evaluate your pricing model, as the way you use the solution may change over time.

3. Discuss moving to a self-service model with your IT and data security teams .

Another benefit of moving to a self-service model is eliminating the burden of application and infrastructure management. Your in-house teams will be able to move from maintaining (and paying for) a myriad of eDiscovery technologies to a single platform providing all of the capabilities you need without the IT overhead. In effect, moving to a self-service solution gives your team access to industry-leading eDiscovery technology while removing the cost and hassle of licensing and infrastructure upkeep.

A self-service model also allows you to transfer some of your organization’s data security risk to a solution provider. You gain peace of mind knowing your eDiscovery data and the supporting tech is administered by a dedicated IT and security team in a state-of-the-art IT environment with best-in-class security certifications.

Finally, to ensure your organization can realize the full benefit of moving to a self-service solution, it’s imperative that your IT team has a seat at the table when selecting a solution platform. They can help to ensure that whatever service is selected can be fully and seamlessly integrated into your organization’s systems.

Keeping these tips in mind as your organization begins its self-service journey will help you realize the benefits that a quality self-service eDiscovery platform can provide. For more in-depth guidance on migrating to self-service platforms, Brooks Thompson’s blog posts discussing tips for overcoming self-service objections and building a self-service business case.