Paralegal Boot Camp

Module 1: An E-Discovery Overview

All litigation paralegals should have a basic foundation of ediscovery history, terminology, and background to become familiar with electronically stored information and the practice of e-discovery. This introduction reviews several industry workflow models to better understand how a paralegal can assist in managing each of those phases, together with a review of the significant case law that has affected e-discovery.

• Basics of electronically stored information (ESI)
• Workflow models that assist legal professionals with e-discovery projects
• Rules and principles that govern e-discovery
• Key issues in e-discovery case law that every litigation paralegal should be aware of

Module 2: Developing a Written Plan for your Ediscovery Project

Module 2 gives you an in-depth understanding of general project management principles that should be used in your e-discovery projects. This module goes through each of the e-discovery stages that should be in your Standard Operating Procedure (“SOP”) or "defensible audit trail" and provides you with the tools to draft your own SOP to use on every e-discovery project. Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Apply general project management methodologies to the practice of e-discovery
• Understand project scope and scheduling resources to be able to develop a defensible project plan
• Start drafting your Standard Operating Procedures to use on your next e-discovery project, using our 50+ page template to get started
• Preparing a project budget and learn methods to monitor and control costs throughout the project

Module 3: Managing the Processing Phase of Your E-discovery Project

As we start our processing phase, Module 3 shows you how to apply project management principles to the processing phase, whether you are doing the processing internally or outsourcing it. 

Additionally, this module provides tools to prepare you for the team status meeting that takes place during the processing project, follow-up planning questions, and issues to be aware of during the processing project to make sure you stay on time (and on budget!) to start the review phase.

Module 4: Managing the Review Phase of Your E-discovery Project

Module 4 takes you through the workflow for the review phase and provides instruction on the e-discovery project manager’s role in the review phase of the e-discovery project. Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Identify methods to limit the scope of the document review
• Determine the strategy/plan of the review project
• Plan for the review workflow and how various elements can affect the review project
• Set up quality control steps to prevent costly mistakes

Module 5: Managing the Production Phase of Your E-discovery Project

Module 5 provides you with the best practices to follow during the production phase of your e-discovery project. This includes the planning phase of production which begins at the beginning when you first receive the electronically stored information (ESI). Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Apply e-discovery project management methodologies to the planning of the production phase of e-discovery
• Have a comprehensive understanding of the best practices for production
• Know the different production format options and effectively communicating those options to the team
• Distinguish between the pros and cons of the various production formats
• Understand different delivery methods for a smooth production and completion of the e-discovery project