Job Advice: Legal Project Management is Swell, but it Won't Make Up for Technological Ineptitude

One segment of the legal industry where project-management skills are particularly valued is electronic discovery. A number of articles have appeared in industry publications and blawgs over the past few months that have discussed the importance of project management in e-discovery projects and have opined on what makes a great e-discovery project manager. Most of these articles rightly focus on communication and organizational skills. In my post Do You Have What it Takes to be an E-discovery Project Manager?, however, I did warn that technical skills should not be underestimated. 

There are two things they don't teach in law school; project management and collaboration.... I talk to clients who stick with vendors who are technically inept so long as they're great project managers. The only way to control costs is to manage all phases of discovery. [3]

 Technically inept? Really? As in "not fitting; inappropriate" or "displaying a lack of judgment, sense or reason; foolish" or "bungling or clumsy; incompetent"? [4] 

I'm sure that Mr. Bace just made a poor word choice. I find it hard to take seriously the claim that any corporation or firm is so smitten with project management that they would repeatedly retain the Three Stooges for forensic collection, data processing, and evidence hosting and production, so long as they're managed by a real swell project manager. The greatest project manager in the world cannot save a project if he or she is managing a team of people who can't do their jobs right.

I agree that it will often make sense to select a vendor who provides great project management and average technology than one with whiz-bang tech but poor project management. But inept? No. Great communication and a charming personality will not make up for improperly collected evidence, inadvertent waiver of privilege, missed discovery deadlines, and expensive do-overs.

I am not saying that you need a computer science degree to manage an e-discovery project or that "mere" lawyers are unfit for the job.  Many of the best e-discovery project managers I've worked with have no formal technological training, degrees, or certifications. But, as I've said before, while I agree that an e-discovery project manager needn't be a technologist, he or she must have technological bent. 

I don't see how you can be an effective e-discovery project manager without some understanding of the technologies involved. One important reason for a lawyer in charge of e-discovery projects to take the time to learn about the technology is to avoid getting into a situation where he or she is managing a team of people unsuited for the work. It is not without reason that human resource management is one of nine knowledge areas tested on the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam. Acquiring, developing, and managing an e-discovery project team requires making the necessary efforts to understand what the work entails and what is required of those doing the work.

Personally, I feel lawyers are up to the task. 

I've written before on the debate over whether legal training prepares lawyers properly for managing e-discovery projects. Bace's comments reflect the oft-repeated complaint that management and collaboration skills are not taught in law school. Also, many in the e-discovery industry, notably Ralph Losey, have bemoaned the lack of e-discovery training in U.S. law schools. I agree that U.S. law schools need to modernize their curricula to address the needs of today's consumers of legal services. This includes case and project management, e-discovery, collaborative law, and alternative dispute resolution.

That's not to say, however, that legal education and experience is useless for those managing e-discovery projects. Law school teaches you to absorb knowledge quickly. You have to not only learn the law, but learn to apply the law to all areas of human endeavor. The practice of law requires continued education and study, not only of the law but also the science and business practices that are relevant to matters the lawyer handles. Think of a personal injury lawyer learning enough about brain cancer, car-brake design, or various medical procedures to depose and cross-exam top experts in these areas. If someone has the training and experience to do that, is it really such a challenge for an attorney to learn about data collection and processing, litigation databases, meta data, and advanced search technologies?

Let's also not forget that you need some understanding of civil procedure and the law of evidence when managing electronic discovery projects.  Just as the lawyer managing e-discovery projects must learn about the technology, the technologist must learn about the law. 

In the midst of the United States' worst recession since the Great Depression, the demand for e-discovery consultants and project managers remains high.[5]  Given the tight job market for lawyers, I expect increasing numbers of attorney-job seekers to get the message about project management and re-brand themselves as legal project managers, especially for e-discovery positions. I hope these newly minted legal project managers pay more than lip service to the importance of project management and make a real effort to learn skills that will actually increase the value of their work. For e-discovery work, that must include making an effort to understand the technologies and standards unique to this industry.

---