In the Ad Hoc stage, the legal department is largely reactive. When discovery is required, an enormous amount of effort is requried to identify documents and eDiscovery processes are outsourced to outside counsel. Without defined roles and responsibilities, there is limited collaboration between individuals and departments. Processes are often done manually and performed without an appropriate in-house technology. The response strategy is therefore largely dependent on outsourcing. This lack of control and process carries substantial business risk, from data spoliation and loss of reputation, to higher costs and financial penalties.
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In the Aware stage of the maturity model, legal departments have some processes outlined but they are loosely defined and inconsistently followed. There might be a point person assigned to coordinate activities between internal and external resources but there are no dedicated personnel. Collaboration between IT and legal exists at a basic level but data processes are manual, require import and export processes which increases risk of data breach and spoliation. The overall legal operations strategy is still completely dependent on outsourcing. Although there are benefits from this early level of awareness, this stage still carries most of the same risks as the Ad Hoc stage. It is costly, and relies too heavily on the skill set of the individual point person, who is unaided by legal hold or eDiscovery technology.
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Companies that have reached the Repeatable stage in the maturity model will typically have dedicated internal and external resources with defined roles and responsibilities for managing legal operations. Legal processes are documented and followed consistently, resulting in better coordination of resources and increased visibility into billing and cost tracking. Companies in the Repeatable stage begin to experience efficiency and cost savings although these are not yet optimized. Technology standardization is happening in the legal department from a billing perspective, and some processes, like legal hold management, are being brought fully in-house. Some standardization may also be starting internally or across in-house and external legal teams. Standardized and repeatable legal operations enables greater oversight and control of external resources and lowers the risk of litigation.
At the Repeatable stage of the maturity model your organization is starting to realize the benefits of standardization. There is at least one dedicated internal legal operations resource with defined roles and responsibilities. Continue to develop Subject Matter Experts (SME) to coordinate eDiscovery activities and manage standardized processes. This will ensure both internal and external resources follow documented processes and enable better opportunity to find areas to optimize. Technology is still largely outsourced so there are opportunities to adopt new solutions to gain oversight on processes and improve coordination/collaboration with internal and external resources. As more processes are standardized and workflows become repeatable your organization will continue to gain efficiency, risk controls and cost savings.
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At the Predictable stage of the Maturity Model all processes are well documented and every stakeholder knows what to do and how to execute their responsibilities, creating efficiency and lowering the cost of action. the cost of action lower. The organization has trained and dedicated resources with subject matter expertise focused on process optimization. Expanded adoption of technology provides data-driven insights delivered by the AI and analytics tools ready to meet requirements for tight controls, rigorous security, and ongoing process improvement of both insourced and outsourced resources. As a result, the legal team is able to coordinate resources faster and more efficiently, leading to productivity optimization and significant cost savings in both technology and overall legal spend.
The Predictable stage is still more about perfecting the eDiscovery process and getting control over eDiscovery operations than achieving future-focused decision-making. Organization’s at this stage have internal subject matter expertise that are focused on process optimization. At this stage the legal department is using a hybrid model of insourced and outsourced resources, but rely on data-driven insights delivered by mostly in-house technology with AI and analytics capabilities. In this stage, organizations have the systems and process to meet requirements for tight controls, rigorous security, and ongoing process improvement, to achieve the next stage of operational maturity.
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This eDiscovery maturity stage is unique to the Casepoint process, reflecting the capabilities of our AI-based technology and the business transformations that are possible when an organization engages with the right partner and the right technology on the maturity journey. As organizations arrive at the Activating stage, they become future-ready: they are positioned to withstand the shocks and surprises of a dynamic global business environment using the insights enabled by AI-driven processes, and they can quickly adjust and refine enforcement throughout all the business areas that legal needs to influence in the realm of eDiscovery. Dedicated internal and third-party teams work within well-defined parameters in a process of continuous improvement, innovation, and added value. Activities are supported by advanced, cloud-based technology leveraged across the enterprise and external parties to deliver control over security and processes and achieve significant time and cost savings. The legal department becomes a more powerful contributor to the legal and financial health of the organization, which is now positioned to react more flexibly to challenges or opportunities in other areas.
Where do you want us to send you, your detailed report?
This maturity model is for legal department leaders including GCs, AGCs, and Legal Operations Professionals who understand the importance and value of transforming their roles and that of their teams in order to address the myriad challenges faced by their company.
By addressing eDiscovery first, corporations can see immediate benefits from a risk and cost perspective. By taking a holistic approach to people, process, technology, and strategy, legal operations can transform from a reactive, ad hoc organization to a proactive, mature team utilizing our model and approach.
There are many competing priorities within corporate law departments. Jostling for position are contract lifecycle management, matter management and billing, compliance software, data security and compliance, and eDiscovery. For many organizations, eDiscovery may be on the list, but not at the top. However, if you are pursuing a strategy that matures your entire legal operations, focusing on eDiscovery will have the biggest impact on your operations in the shortest amount of time. Here’s why:
Focusing on eDiscovery maturity first allows you to immediately address, and have a significant impact on, critical risk and cost functions in the face of increased litigation investigations, compliance oversight, and data-based risks.
A strong extensible technology that covers the full Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) not only ensures that a corporation reduces risk by maintaining control of data through the full eDiscovery lifecycle, it also assists legal ops practitioners with EDRM tasks that fall within their purview, such as legal hold, preservation, collection, internal investigations, Legal Ops, claim management, and matter management.
eDiscovery as a practice impacts all other areas of legal operations. When you are able to understand and manage the data you control across the entire eDiscovery lifecycle, you are automatically in a better position to address other data-intensive practices, including matter management, contract lifecycle, compliance, and data security.
Having the people, processes, and technology in place for mature eDiscovery supports the primary function of the legal department as a whole. In addition, the talent spawned from litigation support and eDiscovery industry gives you the most well-rounded, skills-diverse candidates who can negotiate the full spectrum of Legal Ops decisions.
Having the right set of tools and capabilities in place — including secure and scalable cloud-computing, a flexible and extensible platform, and AI technologies and analytics — will reduce your overall tech stack. It will also help you respond to unanticipated challenges with more speed and agility.
Standardizing on one technology allows legal departments to maintain process consistency and efficiency, both internally and among external providers. Choosing an experienced technology partner, such as Casepoint, to deploy that technology is an essential step in standardizing on an extensible technology.
