Guest Column: Outsourced Vs. In-House e-Discovery: Making The Right Choice

By Dean Kuhlmann, VP of Business Development, Lateral Data

A law firm's size, its finances, and the number and technical prowess of a corporate legal department's in-house staff are among the most important considerations when choosing to outsource e-Discovery or bring this mission-critical process in-house. Decision makers must also closely assess the complexity or "all-in-oneness" of e-Discovery software solutions and their infrastructure requirements before finalizing their decision.

The ability to manage E-Discovery is an essential business process staple at law firms and within legal departments. Access to electronic evidence, whether email messages, documents, text files, images, databases, spreadsheets, or audio files, increases efficiencies and bolsters ROI by saving immeasurable time in performing litigation and computer forensics. Making the wrong choice between outsourcing or bringing e-Discovery in-house can wreak havoc on a firm's bottom line and its operational and procedural efficiencies.

What to do?
As stated, the first step involves performing a careful, unbiased top-to-bottom assessment of how e-Discovery is aligned with a firm's finances, personnel, IT infrastructure and organizational strengths. It also includes paying strict attention to both micro and macroeconomic factors.

A knee-jerk temptation in favor of outsourcing e-Discovery often is the result of a cursory 50,000-ft. look at the practice's bottom line, the stock market and other external economic indicators. Prolonged revenue dips, coupled with market volatility, can prompt business leaders to whittle outside expenses, including all types of outsourcing, to the bone.