E-Discovery Services & Strategy

The Perkins Coie E-Discovery Services & Strategy (“ESS”) Group provides comprehensive information and records management, litigation readiness, and electronic discovery services to clients facing a wide range of legal issues, from complex civil litigation, to governmental and regulatory investigations, to transactional matters. ESS Group lawyers and professionals provide advice and counseling concerning all aspects of e-discovery, including: 

• Development of comprehensive document retention and records management policies and procedures;
  
• Assistance with a full range of litigation readiness endeavors, including document hold policies and procedures, e-discovery service provider evaluation and selection, and proactive data mapping and document collection protocols;
  
• Guidance and help with the identification, preservation, collection and processing of both traditional documents and electronically stored information (“ESI”);
  
• Further guidance and development of protocols for the review, analysis and production of traditional documents and ESI; and
  
• Leadership in conducting comprehensive e-discovery meet and confer sessions, together with e-discovery related motion practice and other legal proceedings.

In addition to providing outstanding client service, the ESS Group’s goal is simple: to provide guidance to clients facing electronic data management and discovery challenges by developing comprehensive and defensible practices and procedures that fulfill legal obligations, minimize risks and control costs.

Meeting the Challenge

ESI presents new and difficult challenges.  New rules, evolving case law, increasing sophistication of technology infrastructures, ever changing e-discovery technology tools and the growing universe of electronic data present complexities in the discovery process that did not exist in traditional paper discovery.  Specialized skill sets are required to minimize the risks associated with ESI discovery and control costs.  We've designed a team to meet that challenge.

• The ESS Group includes attorneys and paralegals located in twelve Perkins Coie offices across the United States.  ESS Group attorneys serve as legal advisors for all aspects of data management and electronic discovery.
• Together with the ESS Group, the firm's Practice Technology Services ("PTS") Department consults with Perkins Coie legal teams and their clients on the strategic application of technology to legal matters to increase efficiencies and control costs. Under the direction of the firm's E-Discovery Manager, PTS Project Managers serve as technical advisors who liaise with clients' Information Technology resources, provide guidance in developing workflows for the discovery process and engage and manage appropriate third-party service providers for individual matters.  PTS Analysts serve as the ESS Group and firm's primary technical resources in managing and maintaining the firm's in-house discovery support systems.
• The ESS Group is also supported by two dedicated, in-house document review centers – one located within the firm's headquarters in Seattle, and the other located in the firm's Phoenix office – where Perkins Coie staff attorneys attend to document review and various discovery related tasks under the direction and management of the ESS Group and Perkins Coie legal teams.  Use of the Perkins Coie Review Centers provides our clients with high quality work product performed by Perkins Coie staff attorneys at significantly reduced rates.

Comprehensive Approach

Perkins Coie's ESS Group's comprehensive e-discovery services generally fall within the following broad categories:

• Information & Records Management. ESS Group attorneys and professionals are experienced in helping clients meet current legal and business requirements for the retention and disposition of traditional documents and ESI.  Typical services include:
  
  
  • Records Inventory
  • Development of Records Retention Schedules
  • Usage Policies
  • Legacy Data Management
  • Backup & Archival Storage Assessment
  • Technology Alternatives

• Litigation Readiness. Helping clients get their e-discovery houses in order – preferably in advance of litigation or investigatory action – is one of the best ways to control e-discovery related costs, and ESS Group attorneys and professionals welcome the opportunity to work with our clients in this regard.  Common counseling includes:
  
  
  • E-Discovery Response Plans
  • E-Discovery Toolkits
  • Legal Hold Policies & Procedures
  • Data Mapping
  • Data Collection Protocols & Procedures
  • E-Discovery Service Provider Evaluation & Selection
  • IT Asset Management

• E-Discovery Services. ESS Group attorneys and professionals have deep experience guiding clients in all aspects of e-discovery, including:

• Legal consulting at all stages of the e-discovery lifecycle (including ESI identification, preservation, collection, processing, review, analysis and production)
• Development of legal strategy and requirements for meet and confer conferences and e-discovery related motion practice
• Data Mapping
• Design and oversight of initial, quality control and privilege reviews, together with associated processes and procedures

Leaders in the Profession

In addition to significant human, technical and infrastructure resources, Perkins Coie also believes that the best e-discovery lawyers and professionals must actively participate in the ongoing development of e-discovery law and practice. To that end, ESS Group members regularly serve as presenters and panelists at national e-discovery conferences and continuing legal education seminars. In addition, Perkins Coie:

• Is an official law firm sponsor of The Sedona Conference® Working Group Series^SM (where several of our attorneys serve on current Working Group drafting teams);
• Is a law firm participating organization in the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (where several of our professionals serve on current project teams); and
• Has several attorneys and professionals who are members of ARMA International® (one of the leading information and records management professional organizations). 

For more information about Perkins Coie’s ESS Group, including information about our representative clients and recent projects, please contact Christopher M. Schultz, Debra R. Bernard, or any of the other attorneys in the ESS Group.