Book Review: The OLP's Thought Leaders Guide to E-Discovery

I spent some time today reading through the Organization of Legal Professionals's (OLP) recently published Thought Leader's Guide to Electronic Discovery, a collection of 15 short articles covering \"areas of concern litigators encounter frequently in pretrial discovery and presents suggestions and strategies for solving some of these problems.\" It seeks to further the OLP's goal of providing \"formal education for the experienced legal professional in eDiscovery.\"^[1] It also includes a directory of organizations and blogs dedicated to e-discovery and information about OLP's on-line e-discovery courses. 

\nAuthor: The Organization of Legal Professionals

\nTitle: The OLP's Thought Leaders Guide to E-Discovery

\nPublisher: The Organization of Legal Professionals

\nPublication Date: July 2010

\nISBN: 978-0-557-43069-7

\nFormat: e-book (PDF) 

Price: free for members, \$29.95 for non-members

\nPublisher's Link: http://www.theolp.org/Default.aspx?pageId=598725\n

Before sharing my impression of this book, I should disclose that I am a regular member of the OLP and, like any member, received a copy of this book for free.  

This book hits the sweet spot between introductory material for those new to e-discovery and in-depth treatment of specific issues for seasoned experts. It is neither e-discovery 101, an encyclopedic treatise, nor a deep dive into e-discovery arcana. Rather, it is a smörgåsbord of e-discovery treats cooked up by some of e-discovery's top chef's as well as some of its rising stars. It is appropriate for the e-discovery novice looking to expand their understanding of the field, as well as for the experienced professional interested in what his or her peers are thinking about.

While none of the articles focus specifically on legal project management, George Socha discusses some interesting legal-project-management trends in his chapter summarizing the findings of the 2009 Socha-Gelbman Report. Mr. Socha states that many corporations are relying on better project management of e-discovery to help lower their legal spend and to \"minimize misteps and deliver more predictable, reliable, and cost-effective results.\" This growing awareness of the importance of project management seems to exert a positive influence as \"[b]oth consumers and providers report that project management is improving.\" That said, \"[w]hile gains are being made there is still a long way to go, so much so that one survey participant griped, 'Where are the professionals?'\"^[2]

Also, it was nice to see that the e-discovery blog directory included two blogs dedicated to Legal Project Management: the Legal Project Management blog and Steve Levy's Lexician blog.^[3]

A number of the articles in the book have been previously published in other sources (e.g., the Socha piece was previously published in Law Technology News and another version in Corporate Counsel ^[4]), but having them all together in a single volume is convenient and will introduce those who actually have a life outside of e-discovery to material they may have missed from other publications. 

While the book does not offer much material specifically focused on project management, it is a necessary addition to the library of anyone who is responsible for managing legal projects that involve e-discovery--in other words just about anyone who works on litigation or compliance matters. For such a new organization, it is impressive how much quality content the OLP has created, including newsletters, Webinars, on-line e-discovery training courses, and now books. For those serious about staying on the cutting edge of e-discovery, the annual 95 USD for \"Regular Membership\" quickly pays for itself.