I heard these comments at the IQPC 6th Annual E-Discovery Conference. They seemed to capture the state of the industry in 2008 and offer insights into where the community will focus in 2009.
1. “There is one thing that legal, IT and the business community agree on: reducing cost.”
2. “Storage will get cheaper each year, but nothing is cheaper than free. Preserve nothing, store nothing and pay nothing.”
3. “The [federal] rules are not by any stretch of the imagination a sea change. They are a clarification.”
4. “I would much rather get it out early in the case.”
5. “Outside counsel is always the coroner instead of the treating physician.”
6. “2008 was the year of the beauty contest where clients were interviewing vendors [regularly].”
7. “The electronic revolution creates an opportunity for lawyers and others to be courteous professionals.”
8. “We must rely on some cooperative effort – it is aspirational but if it doesn’t become a reality, we will drown in what we have created.”
9. “You have to ask the right questions.”
10. “Be prepared for authenticity. You have been lucky not to have it, but being lucky is not a real strategy.”
11. “Prioritize where you are at risk the most in e-discovery.”
12. “The IT organization desperately needs and wants clear instruction what to preserve.”
13. “It all falls apart at the collision between technology and the law.”
14. “Not having some expertise in-house to understand the intersection between law and technology is inexcusable and a big mistake.”
15. “The legal folks sometimes don’t speak the language of IT.”
16. “It is the responsibility of the lawyers to learn all about their IT systems.”
17. “It is a team effort.”
18. “Search is no longer a bunch of key words you punch in.”
19. “You need to look at the culture of the organization.”
20. “The duty to preserve is absolute, but the duty to produce can be negotiated.”
21. “Cooperation will be less expensive in the long run."
Ari L. Kaplan, Esq.
www.arikaplanadvisors.com
(646) 641-0600
Author of "Opportunity Maker: Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development" (Thomson-West, 2008).
For reviews,press and tour schedule, visit the official site of "The Opportunity Maker."
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