Tampa, Fla. - Carlton Fields Tampa associate, Rebecca Shwayri, guest blogs for the iSight.com Blog. In her third column, “5 Tips for Hiring an E-Discovery Vendor in a Workplace Investigation,” published August 13, 2012, she discusses steps in-house counsel and a company should take when considering to hire an e-discovery vendor.
Shwayri said that it can be difficult for a company to decide whether they need to retain an e-discovery vendor when the company is unaware of what it can do and at what cost. Her column flags key steps companies can take to make the most appropriate decision:
- Access the company’s capabilities
- Access the vendors capabilities
- Consider the type of services needed
- Use an RFP
Following these steps and once a vendor is identified, Shwayri explains that it’s important for a company to do its due diligence regarding the vendor. Shwayri outlines those steps as follows:
“1. Consider the number of years the company has been in business, the track record of providing the product or service, insurance and license issues, confidentiality guarantees, and pricing methods.
2. Gather information about the personnel who will be working on the case. It is necessary to screen the experience level of the employees and their ability to guarantee work by a specific date.
3. Gather information concerning project security. The vendor should be able to describe what is done to ensure that a document has not been changed. The vendor should also be able to confirm that a complete, exact copy of the data is stored. It is also necessary to discuss the security of the data from hackers and viruses.
4. Analyze conflicts issues from the beginning of the engagement. Vendors might be privy to confidential information regarding a client’s information management system. As a result, it is important to ensure that no conflicts are present from the outset. Also consider whether the vendor may have previously been retained by a competitor of the client.”
READ: i-Sight “5 Tips for Hiring an E-Discovery Vendor in a Workplace Investigation”
Read Shwayri’s prior blog columns:
“How to Get a Favorable E-Discovery Outcome”
“How to Mismanage E-Discovery in a Workplace Investigation”
