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of collection. Chain of evidence is one of the strongest arguments against writing your own e-discovery tools, reviewing data natively outside a review tool, or pulling something untested off the shelf. Ensure your tool has an accepted method of preserving chain of custody; a basic but reasonably reliable function to look for is the calculation of a "hash value" linked to each record. • Should you in-source or outsource? One can purchase a document review tool or outsource the hosting of a document review tool to a third-party vendor. Generally, having the right tools in-house (in-sourcing) can make the job much less expensive. In-sourcing may also avoid security issues that can result from having outsiders reviewing your or your clients' files. Although outsourcing services can be expensive, they are often cheaper than trying to do the job internally without the necessary effective tools or procedures. • If I outsource, how do I choose a vendor? Choosing a vendor and review platform is not an easy task if you are unprepared. Be diligent. If you do not lay out your requirements and the features of your case and its documents, and if the vendor does not take the time to try to understand your case, keep looking for a vendor who can understand your problem. There are many good companies out there that specialize in e-discovery, so take the time to find one. Generally, a good vendor will assist both with tool selection, and the process of identifying how to isolate documents that may need to be reviewed in order to meet discovery requirements (i.e. project management). The vendor will try to understand the needs of the case and to match the specific requirements of the case with the right technologies. A superior vendor will also be technology agnostic and offer a multitude of solutions from which to choose. A vendor should explain why a recommended technology is right for your data and your case. A good vendor will also help you use the tool effectively. Therefore, perhaps the most important factor to consider is how well the vendor's team supporting the tool actually knows how the tool can be customized. E-discovery work is service work, and it is the people, not the CANADIAN LAW LIST CANADIAN LAW LIST 2011 YOUR INSTANT CONNECTION TO CANADA'S LEGAL NETWORK • • • Inside you will find: an up-to-date alphabetical listing of more than 58,000 barristers, solicitors and Quebec notaries, corporate counsel, law firms and judges in Canada; contact information for the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, Federal Cabinet Ministers, departments, boards, commissions and Crown corporations; legal and government contact information related to each province for the Courts of Appeal, Supreme Courts, County and District Courts, Provincial Courts, law societies, law schools, Legal Aid, and other law-related offices of importance. MORE THAN A PHONE BOOK Hardbound • Published February each year On subscription $146 • L0084-8573-26084 One-time purchase $162 • L0084-8573 ISSN 0084-8573 Prices subject to change without notice,to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. Visit canadalawbook.ca or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation technology, that matters. Hosted document review can become a very complex process when native data is involved. Having a trusted and knowledgeable project management team working on the platform will ensure success. As part of selecting an e-discovery service, you should also review the vendor's procedures and security measures to protect your data. As a matter of course, it is likely that you will ask the vendor most of the same questions you would ask if you were selecting a software e-discovery tool for purchase in-house. Dera J. Nevin is the senior director, litigation support, and e-discovery counsel at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. A practising lawyer, she also oversees the firm's e-discovery operations and can be reached at dnevin@mccarthy.ca. CLL_CL_Sept11.indd 1 CLL - 1/2 page island.indd 1 www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com SEPTEMBER 2011 1711-08-12 3:31 PM 8/11/11 9:21:28 AM