Litigation Support Department – An Operations Manual
By
Mark Lieb
Through use of the book, the Department will…
- Provide consistent services to firm and third parties;
- Maintain order and organization;
- Increase the speed of collection, review and production;
- Increase the number of concurrent matters it handles;
- Organize the entire department not just individual cases;
- Decrease vendor costs to the client;
- Increase revenues for the firm; and
- Establish prequalified vendors.
The book outlines strategies, steps and goals for the entire case lifecycle. It also formalizes standards everyone can work toward: legal team, firm technical staff and vendor technicians.
“The technician…needs to know why he’s doing what he’s doing. He needs to know the results he’s accountable for and the standards against which his work is being evaluated. He also needs to know where the [case] is going and where his accountabilities fit into its overall strategy”
(pg.52, Michael E. Gerber, “The E Myth Revisited”)
Supporting files, included either on the CD or inside the book as a template include:
- Case Lifecycle Task List
- Department Status Reports
- Deposition and Trial Resource Sheet
- Discovery Lifecycle Flowchart
- Litigation Budget Spreadsheet
- Litigation Support QC Tasks
- New Matter Assessment Email
- Server Organization Email
- Technical Standards
- Vendor Compliance Email
At last. A consultant who treats the lit support department (AND the law firm) like a business. Any firm doing lit support, regardless of size, should read this book and put it’s advice into practice.
Dr. Tom O’Connor, Attorney, Legal Electronic Discovery Institute
Whether your firm is establishing a new department of one person or formalizing efforts across multiple offices, the book provides a solid foundation and approach.
