Canadian Lawyer InHouse

Roundup • A roundup of legal department news and trends 2. Know when to seek assistance 3. Clearly define roles 4. stablish efficient, effective E communication 5. Engage outside specialists for managed review 6. mplement predictive coding I appropriately 7. se technology to target collections U As part of the report, 27 per cent of 350 lawyers surveyed from Canada and the United States said their law firm or company does not have a standard operating procedure in place to handle an unexpected request for discovery. As well, 22 per cent said they were not confident that, if faced with litigation or a regulatory request, their organization could efficiently respond to a request for information residing on social media sites. The precursor to e-discovery starts with information governance, which is not a legal function and means working across business units legal isn't typically used to dealing with, says Dera Nevin, managing counsel, e-discovery with TD Bank Group. "A lot of this involves the expensing through legal of a failure to capitalize on information management systems and information governance processes," says Nevin. While getting hit with a major piece of litigation can be the trigger a company needs to embrace a formal information governance process, it is not always something like a large class action — it could be something that appears simple on the surface, such as an employment case, in which costs escalate when gathering the data from all the required sources becomes a monumental challenge. Something as tedious sounding as sorting through thousands of e-mails on multiple devices can become quite costly. "I've seen it so often — the $52,000 employment case that results in $500,000 in discovery costs and the corporation says, 'We have to stop this.' It's often the catalyst behind the company saying, 'We need to appoint a paralegal, lawyer, or technologist to start to deal with this,'" says Nevin. Controlling costs requires a "robust records management plan" put in place "long before a company gets an e-discovery request," according to the report. It is also critical to have clearly defined roles around data processes and a point person empowered to make decisions even if it's to outsource e-discovery. Once a company gets its information retention house in order, it may decide to approach an e-discovery process that involves working with external counsel and a third-party provider. Nevin says companies are struggling with whether to internalize e-discovery or rely on external counsel or thirdparty specialists. "There's no right or wrong answer, it will depend a lot on the organization and its priorities." Choosing an external e-discovery partner can be challenging as there are no standards in the marketplace and buyers often make spending decisions without having put in the time to fully investigate alternatives options. IH – Jennifer Brown Lerners 1/2 island Absolute professionalism and respect for you and your client relationships, and the tenacity required to go the distance in pursuit of the best possible outcome. Absolute professionalism and respect for you and your For proven experience in class actions, count on Lerners. client relationships, and the tenacity required to go the distance in pursuit of the best possible outcome. Contact our London or Toronto office today and turn our experience to your advantage For proven experience in class actions, count on Lerners. Contact our London or Toronto office today and turn our experience to your advantage London: 519 672 4510 Toronto: 416 867 3076 www.lerners.ca w w w. c a n a d i a n law y er m a g . c o m / i n h o u s E ntitled-1 1 june 2013 • 9 13-04-26 12:36 PM

• Cover