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Boot Camp for Training Paralegals

By Gillian Glass posted 12-18-2018 08:28

  

Objective

A week long, total immersion training for technically-minded paralegals who wish to be integrated into a litigation support / eDiscovery group.  Using a scenario-based methodology, we will follow the lifecycle of a matter from inception.  By close of training, which includes a mentoring program, participants will be sufficiently proficient to act, with guidance, as advisor to manage and counsel throughout the lifecycle of litigation.  The desired candidate has proven management skills and exposure to large-scale eDiscovery projects.  Successful participants will understand:

  • Components of IT infrastructure/business information systems
  • Litigation hold processes
  • Vendor and tool selection
  • Defensible collection protocol
  • Budgeting
  • Processing
  • Managed document review
  • Production
  • Trial support

Day 1-Overview

  • What is Electronically Stored Information (“ESI”) and what does it mean to you?
    • An overview of information sources and storage, how data is encoded and stored, fundamental functions of file systems and typical repositories of information in business information systems.
    • Overview of computer forensics and when it is appropriate
    • What is data mapping?
  • Overview of the lifecycle of an eDiscovery case
    • Discussion of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
      • How did the 2006 Amendments change discovery to "eDiscovery"
      • 2016 rule changes
      • Overview of relevant state rules
      • Recent case law and how it affects discovery, including technology-assisted review
      • The meet & confer process
    • Overview of the EDRM
      • What does each phase of the EDRM mean?
        • Legal issues
        • Technical issues
      • Who are the stakeholders at each stage of the process?
    • What are our internal tools and capabilities
      • Each participant will set up a new matter in our data processing tool, create a database in our hosting platform and get an overview of our other tools.
    • What must be outsourced
    • Review of scenario we’ll be using for training sessions, including complaint, overview of "company" and document requests

Day 2-Identification and Preservation

  • Document Retention Policies and Litigation Hold
    • Obligations and duties
      • Relevant case law
    • The role of the law firm in compliance
      • Identification of potentially responsive repositories
        • Create a client interview and data map
      • Budgeting (We will create a budget and update it throughout the lifecycle)
        • How to assess potentially responsive repositories to start the budgeting process
        • Vendor Selection (ISO/Other certifications to ensure client data protection)
          • Preferred vendors and MSAs
            • Statement of Work
          • Proper preservation
            • Preservation interviews
              • IT overview (checklists and exemplars)
              • Client interviews (checklists and exemplars)
              • Tracking and organizing

Day 3-Collection and Culling (plus more fun with budgets)

  • Defensible collection
    • To engage a vendor or not
      • Who is our client?
        • Sophisticated IT
        • Budget constraints
      • Managing a vendor-controlled collection
      • Managing a client-controlled collection
    • Limitations and Protections
      • Controlling costs via raising objections
        • How to advise
          • (overly burdensome, not reasonably accessible, proportionality)
        • What techniques?
          • Sampling, limiting custodians or data sources
        • What do we do with what we've got?
          • Data reduction strategies
            • De-duplication
            • File types
            • Keywords
            • Date filters
            • Domain filters
            • Privilege Considerations
          • Updating the budget now that we have actual metrics
            • Moving from assumptions to reality
              • How to communicate to legal teams and clients

Day 4-Processing, Analysis and Review        

  • What the heck is a processing spec?
    • Processing internally vs outsourcing
    • Culling strategies in processing
    • Detailed review of processing specifications and what each request means
    • Processing session in processing tool
  • Advanced analytics
    • Review of search techniques and protocols
    • Email Threading and other clusters, bulk options
  • Technology-Assisted Review
  • How to choose the right tool for the job
    • (Relativity, vendor hosted platform, etc.)
    • Culling strategies post-review platform load
  • Determining a review strategy
    • Managed review process
      • Engaging and training contract attorneys
      • Managing contract attorneys
      • Review of templates for
        • First pass, second pass, QC and Privilege
      • Training internal case reviewers
      • Privilege review and non-waiver agreements (protective order, clawbacks, rule 502(b))
        • Creating a privilege log in a review application

 

Day 5- Production , Presentation and International Discovery

  • Form of production: What is the "usual course of business?"
    • Technical issues
    • Legal issues
  • Protective orders
    • Inadvertent disclosure (Rule 502(b))
      • Beware the privileged
    • Production queries
      • Production of responsive materials
        • What's a family and why should they stay together
      • Production of privileged but redacted documents
        • When it may be time for a family to split apart
      • Create a sample production
    • Presenting evidence (trial, arbitration, mediation)
      • Internal capabilities
        • Overview of transcript and trial presentation tools
      • Engaging a vendor
        • Graphics, animation and exhibit organization
        • In-court support
      • International Discovery
        • Overview of GDPR and other privacy directives

 

You may also wish to hear the Podcast: Get Empowered to Switch to a Litigation Support Career


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#Training
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