Preface

This is a living document and therefore continues to be updated. The latest version is available through the firm's Litigation Support Department or http://www.eDiscovery.org,

Aside from the Introduction section, every section should be generic enough that any vendor or firm can use it.

Due to history, some examples in this document are Concordance oriented. Even so, all users should benefit from the best practices outlined.

Please respect the law and the license; include the copyright information. Creating this document has taken more hours than I care to admit.

For The Law Firm and Litigation Support

This document is undergoing semi-regular updating. Originally this document dealt with basic standards for setting up Firm network folders and subsequently standardizing “load files”. Your vendors should use the firm standard on all projects, whether they come from a paralegal or the Litigation Support Department. Make sure all of you vendors get a copy of this document. You want to make sure they can deliver what you need the way you need it. This is also a great way to pre-qualify new vendors.

While this document outlines a unified approach to storage and dealing with discovery of all kinds, it doesn’t really show you the even bigger picture: organizing the department and running it as a business.

To read a sample, please visit: http://www.Litigation-Support.info.

If your firm has a Litigation Support Department, ask them how often, on average, they have to "correct" what the vendor delivered.

To learn about cost recovery, please contact Ad Litem Consulting, Inc.

For Vendors

Litigation Support will be your biggest cheerleader if your product doesn’t represent extra work for them. Any deviation from the standard results in more work for Litigation Support. As the customer, this makes Litigation Support dislike certain vendors. Litigation Support bills the client, just like the attorney or paralegal. This means time spent fixing vendor product may mean a higher bill passed along to the client for work the vendor should have done.

To learn more about consultative selling, please contact Ad Litem Consulting, Inc.

These are the technical specifications Litigation Support vendors should match in order to provide the best work product. When these standards are not met, the product may require hours of Firm billable time or a follow-up delivery by the vendor. By providing this firm standard, it is our hope that we can lessen or remove this problem.

Irrespective of who initiates a project, the firm will always expect these standards to be met when the vendor creates product.

For All

I will endeavor to expand the document to include all major applications. I encourage software makers to contact me for inclusion. Thanks to those parties who contributed editing or content.

The latest version of this document is available by visiting http://www.eDiscovery.org.