Affordable eDiscovery: The Most Important Topic in Legal Technology

On Friday, I sat down with Josh Gilliland from the Legal Geeks podcast to talk about legal technology trends for 2014. Unlike most legal technologists, I decided NOT to talk about the usual legal technology trends. At least not directly.

Instead, I wanted to talk about a broader issue that often gets lost in these kinds of discussions- affordable eDiscovery, especially for small and mid-sized law firms. You can watch the whole conversation on YouTube below or on  the Legal Geeks podcast channel.

There are a lot of ongoing trends that are going to continue evolving in 2014, but the most important thing that HAS to happen is that eDiscovery and litigation support services have to become more affordable for small and mid-sized law firms. It’s clear that the business of law is evolving and small to mid-sized law firms are in a position to take more of the business that once went to large firms. Unfortunately, eDiscovery services are still too expensive for many firms to fit into their practice.

A Big Problem With No Easy Answer

Obviously, as a cloud provider, we believe that cloud software offers powerful tools at a fraction of the cost and IT expense associated with traditional software. But the problem needs to be tackled on many fronts.

For example, the entire legal profession has to embrace the concept of proportionality and fairness in litigation in order to make the process feasible for more firms and more litigants. I don’t think I’m being too dramatic in saying that our system of Justice depends on it. Watch the whole thing and let us know what you think.

To start, every small or solo law firm attorney should familiarize themselves with the Sedona Conference’s Cooperation Proclamation. The document promotes a less adversarial approach to discovery that’s not only practical, but has been endorsed by judges across the country. And as lawyers increasingly adopt cost saving, cloud-based technology, at least one undue burden can be alleviated. To learn more, download our free eDiscovery primer for small and solo law firms, Small Firm eDiscovery Strategies: Leveling the Playing Field.