There are many benefits to choosing a managed services provider, especially with an eye toward managing high-volume discovery and providing litigation support at a predictable cost. However, as with any enterprise benefit, it’s important to make sure that proper time and research are invested before committing to any provider. Here are a few tips that can help you make the right choice for your needs.
Experience
The first quality you want in any litigation support team is experience. A clear understanding for the necessity of building a repeatable, defensible process is integral to the success of your case. And, since every client is different, you also need a vendor who can adapt to your specific needs, whether straightforward, traditional reprographics or advanced digital forensics. There is no cookie-cutter approach toward managed services; every company is different, so your vendor must be experienced enough to adapt accordingly.
Flexibility
You also want a team whose skill and knowledge level align with your goals, no matter how much they change from day to day. If your case starts out with an internal investigation, then escalates into a litigation requiring more comprehensive ediscovery or digital forensics, your vendor should be fully capable of addressing both issues. The ideal provider will take a multifaceted approach toward staffing, and be able to deliver a specialist for your needs, whatever they may be. Litigation is never static, so your service provider has to be able to adapt to new challenges on the fly. The best vendor will customize a suite of services for use on a specific case, letting you choose the right combination of support for your needs. Scalability is also important, allowing your services to flex up or down according to the level of litigation support you require, without a corresponding spike in price.
Accountability
Finally, your managed services provider must have a system of clear communication in place to hold all parties accountable throughout the process. A focus on documented and established processes that can be incorporated into your existing procedures will help enhance and augment your current routines into a defensible, repeatable practice. Structured reports and objective metrics that are agreed upon by both parties are vital components for ensuring an open, positive relationship that benefits both vendor and client.
Enjoying Clear Benefits
When you work closely with a handpicked provider, your data will become manageable both in terms of discovery and actual cost by streamlining existing processes and choosing the right litigation support to meet the unique needs of your business. Following these tips for choosing the right managed services team will help you successfully mitigate the cost variances associated with à la carte litigation support, without sacrificing customizable services and scalability.