Technology

Small Firms Keep Ignoring eDiscovery To Their Peril

Technology has given small firms an opening... but they aren't taking it.

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Technology has handed small firms a huge advantage. Many of the tasks that required brute force associate strength 25 years ago are now manageable by algorithm. Even 10 years ago, the tech solutions out there required a heavy outlay to get started. But today, that’s not really the case.

Yet small firms are still lagging behind in eDiscovery investment. A Thomson Reuters survey found that only 19 percent of smaller firms are investing in eDiscovery tech. Only 2 percent responded that they plan to join the tech club in the next year. That’s an abysmal figure.

Why are small firms still behind on this? Part of it may be how rapidly the technology has matured. People who aren’t tracking this industry on a daily basis might be stuck judging eDiscovery solutions based on what they were a decade ago. Brian Schrader of BIA thinks this stigma might be the source of the problem:

There’s a stigma when it comes to eDiscovery – it’s often still thought of as a lengthy, expensive and cumbersome process that requires more resources and investments in terms of both people and technology than most smaller and midsize firms are willing to bear. Even a few years ago, a document review infrastructure could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment and licensing fees just to get started. Small firms just didn’t have the motivation or desire to make those capital expenditures, not to mention the added permanent cost of full-time personnel to maintain and run the systems.

But now we have the cloud! It’s better, faster, more secure, and constantly updating. There’s really no excuse for not adopting a cloud-based solution for anything, but especially eDiscovery. It’s cheaper too. As Schrader puts it, “What used to cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars or more up front can now be bought for a tiny fraction of that in the cloud.”

There’s data everywhere and cases can turn on some dumb social media flub buried in the mountain of communications people make every day. It’s gotten to the point where it would be impossible to professionally handle discovery manually even if one wanted to. That’s a tough mental adjustment for some old-timers who still ask what a terabyte means “in boxes.” But it’s one that has to be made to ethically serve clients in the present data landscape.

Putting all that aside, it’s an opening for small firms to capture business from the big dogs. There’s an opportunity to tackle onerous jobs that used to be out of reach. Yet folks just don’t seem to be grasping that in large enough numbers. Even if you’re not a tech believer, it’s worth checking in to see what’s been going on in the industry for the last few years. As Shrader puts it:

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Small firms – which used to not have the personnel or finances to handle eDiscovery technologies and processes – now have several choices. I would recommend that they consult with an eDiscovery expert, whether that’s someone in-house or an outside vendor, on what would be most useful for their firm. There’s a cloud-based solution for just about anything an attorney could need, so it’s just about learning what’s out there and what each firm would benefit from most.

It’s really not that hard to take a meeting. Don’t leave money on the table — if there’s a way to get an advantage over the competition, get out there and take it.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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