The Top 10 Steps to Take When Purchasing Litigation Support Software

Step 1: Form a Committee
First, the firm must form a committee representative of all the groups who will use the new software. Without buy in from all potential user groups, the firm will have problems deploying the software effectively. Potential committee members should include:

• Tech-savvy attorneys/partners
• Litigation support managers
• Case teams
• Tech-savvy paralegals
• IT managers

The members of the firm and the law office professionals who will serve as decision makers must be given sufficient time to talk to all the key players, do research, assemble data, and become completely familiar with all the information.

Step 2: Define the Problem

The best solution for most litigation support needs is a program that allows the capture and assessment of all electronic documents in one program. Once this basic review of your electronically stored information (ESI) is done, you can evaluate the data set and decide which are suitable candidates for further review.

In many litigation cases involving e-Discovery, the number one challenge is how to handle the large number of documents that need to be reviewed in an efficient and economical manner. These cases demand a software application that allows multiple attorneys to quickly and efficiently review and produce large amounts of documents.

At Blank Rome, our clients were demanding proficiency in managing ESI, as this was becoming the largest slice of the total litigation budget. In addition, we knew we had to improve and our challenge was addressing what we needed to do to become a leader in e-Discovery, and gain a significant edge over our competition.

Step 3: Set Business Objectives for the Desired Solution

Once the problem has been identified, define the solution needs by asking, “What are we trying to accomplish with this new technology?” Make a checklist of the overall strategic needs of the practice, and begin a search based on that list.

After going through our own litigation support solution review, Blank Rome determined that our solution needed to support the following four-point business model. Our solution needed to:

• Reduce e-Discovery costs to our clients, increasing productivity and efficiency of our own lawyers and was cost-effective for cases large and small.
• Serve as a single integrated tool for the life of a case, operating internally or hosted as required. The technology would be used on all cases and would be the basis for training all new young lawyers on a single tool.
• Be flexible and intuitive for the iPod generation.
• Help the firm increase revenues.

Step 4: Establish Your Technical Criteria

With business objectives set, you can now begin to take a look at solutions that will support them. You’ll want to establish a list of key technical criteria that the solution will support, which in turn support your business objectives.

Key technical criteria to consider should include:

• Your longer-term plans for your organization. What kinds of system(s) do you envision your company will utilize in the future? Will your vendor be a partnering enabler or inhibitor of these plans? What is the vendor’s product roadmap? How do they plan to evolve their solutions?

• Your overall infrastructure architecture and planned deployment methodology. You’ll want to think holistically about your entire environment (e.g., web, client/server, etc.), and how your new solution will fit into your existing infrastructure.

• Your desired architecture flexibility in reviewing various file types. What kinds of documents do you need to review? Tiffs? Native files? In what formats will you need to produce them? Often, critical information can be contained in track changes in Word, notes in PowerPoint or calculations in Excel spread sheets. The ability to review and produce in Native, near-native and TIFF formats is critical.

• Your desired needs in regards to workflow. Do you need to configure your workflow according to your existing procedures? Will you be utilizing linear or conceptual review processes?

• Scalability. Will your solution grow with you as your case size(s) grow? How many documents will you need to be able to review?

• Portability. Might you need to bring a hosted solution in-house? Conversely, might you need to leverage your implemented solution via a hosting model over the web?

• Control: Do you need the ability to restrict access to data based on roles, from folder to document, and even field level? What screens will each user need?

• Unicode compliance. Do you need the ability to review foreign language documents? If so, you’ll need a solution that recognizes all foreign language character sets, and the ability to review foreign documents with the translated version side-by-side.

• Security. For hosted review solutions, how secure is the hosted environment? Does the vendor provide its hosted solution directly through its own data center, or leverage a partner to do so? Does the vendor have a lot of experience handling sensitive documents for clients? Does it have any certifications for robust procedures and security features?

A more detailed list of possible technical criteria is contained in the Review Platform Evaluation Checklist.

Step 5: Study the Market

Do not assume that all software works alike and meets all needs. Do your homework to find the solutions best suited to the particular needs of the firm. Talk to lawyers, clients, competitors and e-Discovery consultants. Attend conferences. Gather information. Visit vendor websites. See demos. Ask questions.

Step 6: Narrow Your List

After getting your arms around a pool of possible solutions, you’ll want to narrow the field to a short list of no more than three candidates and then do a more in-depth analysis of those products.

Start by making the tactical decisions. Ask how each solution can be used in a specific case. Be sure to critique applications not just on the basis of features and functionality but also the ability to deliver services on schedule and provide adequate support. This last request should include user training and “train the trainer” options for maximum effectiveness.

Litigation is not a sprint, but rather a marathon. You need a product that is backed by a company with a strong history and a solid reputation. Make sure the vendor you choose has depth and experience to support you for the next 5 years or more.

Step 7: Test the Finalists

Once you decide on a final few applications you think are best, test them for usability by loading sample data or hosting a small case to see exactly how they work in a “live” setting. For hosting tests, a demo host site is a better approach than on-site testing which may be too resource intensive.

Step 8: Set a Time Frame

Too many attorneys wait until the last minute to implement their software choice, and then they have to rush to purchase, train their staff, and bring their system up to speed. This is good news for people who can command premium fees for last-minute weekend consultations, but hardly good news for a firm on a budget.

Be sure to use a structured set of evaluation criteria which have specific dates and milestones. I strongly suggest that this be limited to no more than one month in order to maximize efficiency.

Step 9: Act

You’ve come this far; you don’t want to risk the committee’s time investment and reputation by not taking definitive action – even if the decision is not to make a purchase at this time. Chances are, however, that in going through these steps, you’ve uncovered some significant needs at your firm and some solutions that will provide a cost-effective solution – and position your firm (and possibly yourself) for success in the months and years ahead.

Step 10: Maximize Success of the Chosen Solution

You’re not done once you’ve signed the purchase order for your chosen solution – the last step towards ensuring the success of your chosen solution is no less important than the rest. After purchasing your solution, you’ll want to:

• Hold a kickoff meeting to communicate your selection and methodology to all potential system users, supporters and relevant management as to what the solution will help the firm accomplish.
• Communicate your implementation plan with all relevant technology stakeholders, so that timeframe and resource expectations will be aligned.
• Conduct the implementation in partnership with the solution vendor, who has the experience and familiarity with the solution to ensure its maximum success.
• Test the solution with previous case data to ensure it will work smoothly with an upcoming case.
• Train all users and system support people in partnership with the vendor, who has the experience and familiarity with the solution to ensure its maximum success.
• Gather feedback from users in order to accommodate their needs before the system is put in production.
• Tweak the solution as possible in order to streamline system use before “the bullets start flying.” Some changes may be quite simple to make.
• Report back to management on the system’s use, quantifying its success and comparing productivity to the previous system or processes. Such improvement will reflect positively on the solution – and those who invested the time to select it.

Conclusion: the Approach is Just as Important as the Solution

Law firms should approach buying software in the same way attorneys approach handling a new case. The firm must start with some strategic decisions—deciding what it wants to accomplish, and then finding the software that will help to achieve that objective. Too many litigation support managers try to make their practice fit the software and then wonder why they have problems. How does this happen? For two reasons that any successful law firm always avoids: not planning ahead and waiting until the last minute.

Trial strategy is developed ahead of time, and firms should buy software the same way. What the firm wants to accomplish is defined by the type of practice the firm handles and thus the type of documents that the firm needs to review. A firm that specializes in medical malpractice or personal injury, both of which are heavy on expert testimony and production of records, will require a different approach from an insurance defense practice heavy on record production but equally reliant on briefing the law.

But all products should have only one ultimate test: the results they produce. As such, lawyers and litigation support personnel should select the solutions that work best for them. The best program is the one that can be used most effectively by the firm. Make the software fit your practice. Don’t try to make your practice fit the software.