Firms with eDiscovery Systems are Faring Better

As reported by the big brains at BusinessInsurance.com, and with a moral wisdom that Aesop himself would enjoy (and perhaps write a fable about), corporations and law firms that have implemented eDiscovery systems are faring much better than their counterparts who, only now, are scrambling to get their act into gear.

So why are the proactive enjoying life so much more than that reactive? Gilbert Keteltas, a partner at the law firm Howrey, observes that firms who were prescient enough to get eDiscovery systems in place have been able to spend the last few years refining, adjusting and ultimately improving them.

On the other hand, firms adopting an “on the fly” approach to eDiscovery continue to face the (rather predictable) problem of trying to achieve compliance while working the kinks out – a process that is both costly and risky.

That’s because court-ordered eDiscovery sanctions are on the rise, as judges dismiss with the wave of a wand (or, rather, a gavel) the “excuse” that litigants don’t have the technology, or even the ability, to fulfil discovery requirements.

And even when the courts aren’t sanctioning bad boys and girls, flawed or non-existent eDiscovery is forcing firms to settle complaints simply because they have no discovery leg to stand on.

Of course, “better late than never” is also helpful (albeit annoying) advice, and the message s-l-o-w-l-y seems to be making its way through the corporate and legal countryside: get on board the eDiscovery train NOW and get those systems and protocols in place, because the benefits of doing so far, far outweigh the risks, costs and consequences of inaction.