The Critical Need for e-Discovery Certification

Today's screaming for qualified e-discovery professionals has reached an unprecedented volume. Recently, Socha-Gelbman published an overview of the results of their annual survey on the Legal Technology News site.

One of the most important single observations from it is the shortage of expertise in the market-place with providers, law firms and corporations reported as "fighting each other for the few people who actually understand what is involved in handling electronic documents". That is significant because the lack of qualified professionals can only grow. Predictions of 20%- 25% growth in the field does not guarantee that a generation of skilled and knowledgable people are simply going to pop up.

Most litigation support staff learn on the job. Many are victims of degenerative on-the-job training. That is to say, the trainer received inadequate training; he/she trains another individual who receives even more inadequate training; that person trains another who now receives twice as much inadequate training as the previous inadequately trained individual and so on and so on and so on.

Most law firms and vendors do not have substantive ediscovery training programs. There's plenty of continuing ed and in-house seminars but no real comprehensive long-term courses nor exams to certify core competencies. Reputations and careers are at risk.

Further, law firms hesitate to spend money on any employee who is not slated for partnership. Firms and vendors alike may hire a person from another position i.e., litigation paralegal; computer technician or someone from outside the field, to transition into the lit. support field. Only after plenty of trial and error (possibly on your case), are they called an "expert". There is no test, certification nor standards to enter or stay in this relatively new profession.


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Source: examiner.com
By: Chere Estrin