E-Discovery and Law Department Operations

Interview with Rich Cohen, President, RenewData

By Staff Writer

Published on Dec 16, 2010

For legal departments and their operations managers, e-discovery is still a work in progress. According to the Third Annual Law Department Operations Survey, most of the respondents—64 percent—are planning an e-discovery initiative within the next 12 months.

These results represent a trend by in-house counsel to take a more proactive approach to e-discovery, according to Rich Cohen, President of RenewData. "In the past, when e-discovery was a shiny new object, everyone was willing to let outside counsel play the primary role in the decision making," he says. "Now that the expense involved in e-discovery has become quantifiable and is substantial, there is wisdom in bringing some personnel in-house to manage the process."

In-house counsel increasingly understand the importance of getting e-discovery efforts and costs under control, even as the amount of data that companies produce continues to grow and new technologies are being introduced all the time. The days of a potential “smoking gun" staying hidden in a dusty, desolate archive room in a box of papers are long gone. Nowadays, that smoking gun will almost certainly emerge when electronic records are scoured during discovery. "When I was a general counsel many years ago, the issue that kept me lying awake at night was not knowing what I didn't know," he says. “Somebody was responsible for records management, but it wasn't the highest priority in the organization."

For today's in-house counsel who find themselves lying awake at night, the key to getting to sleep involves gaining a better grasp on e-discovery and the company's retention policies and procedures. “It's a real problem, with real costs and implications," Cohen says. Fortunately, there are good solutions available.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to e-discovery technology or partners, though. But developing strong relationships is an important step, according to Cohen. "Not every outside counsel or service provider will be right for every engagement,” he says. "In-house counsel should pick and choose. When it's truly a partnership, not every firm or group will get all the work, but they will be sitting at the table to be considered as a viable and dependable option."

In order to figure out how to engage the right people and tools for each matter, Cohen suggests that in-house counsel define their vision of success in a particular situation and then work backwards to determine the steps necessary to reach that solution. “It's a lot easier than figuring it out as you go along," he says.

It also helps to involve those at the highest level of the organization, all the way up to the board of directors if possible. As judges hand out sanctions for flawed or mismanaged e-discovery, it becomes much easier to make the case, he says. "This is a real- world concern with real financial implications," Cohen adds.

For more information visit www.renewdata.com.