Tom O’Connor and Nextpoint have released a new version of Tom’s book: eDiscovery for the Rest of Us. This edition is the best yet!

As Tom discusses in his Introduction, his book originated years ago from a presentation at ABA TECHSHOW on “The Small Case Dilemma”. From that, he and attorney Bruce Olson published a book in 2012 called eDiscovery for Small Cases. After more than a decade of conferences and educational efforts on eDiscovery for firms working in small cases, do we really need a book on these concepts?

Tom answers emphatically: “Yes, we do.” As Tom notes (link added):

“eDiscovery is dominated by large vendors selling to the largest law firms, who are representing the largest corporations. None of them want to discuss the reality of the situation on the record. But the fact is, I sat down to write this after reading reports from several recent conferences that show:

• Lawyers are still not using the most current technology tools.
• Corporations are taking more work in house where they believe they can do a better job at it than law firms.
• Vendors are still performing with primitive methods, a concept Maura Grossman discusses in a recent article, The eDiscovery Medicine Show.

The result is that most law firms in the US fall into the category that several consultants now refer to as “the 80%”. That number refers to the vast majority of attorneys in this country who have no sense of what eDiscovery tools are available to them or, if they do, how to get support in using them.”

So, Tom updated the book and renamed it eDiscovery for the Rest of Us (discussed and available here on the Nextpoint site). Though it was originally released months ago, Tom has collaborated with Nextpoint to re-release it again now, with new content, practical checklists and an enhanced design. After introductions by Tom and Nextpoint CEO Rakesh Madhava, Section I provides a strategic overview, revisiting the “Small Case Dilemma” that provided the impetus for the book, along with sections on the early years of eDiscovery, rule changes (page 33 of the book provides a terrific one pager of important eDiscovery rules), cooperation and more.

Section II discusses tactical considerations, which is in a workbook format to assist small firms in dealing with the challenges of eDiscovery. In between sections I and II are two new sections of bonus content: 1) a “Strategy Q&A” discussion with Tom and Brett Burney, Nextpoint’s eLaw Evangelist and Vice President of eDiscovery Consulting at Nextpoint Law Group, and 2) a section with “Reflections on AI” (you knew that was getting in there somewhere, right?).

While it’s quite comprehensive, eDiscovery for the Rest of Us is loaded with numerous charts, diagrams, forms and more to make it easy to follow to the point that even a small case lawyer can understand it. 😉 And it even includes its own infographic of Tom’s eDiscovery Checklist Manifesto (EDCM), built around EDRM phases, with one important phase – Conference – added! The EDCM is introduced in Section I and Section II is built around the phases of it to guide its readers through the key steps of eDiscovery through Production.

While the book is titled eDiscovery for the Rest of Us, it’s really a book that provides useful information and best practices that benefit all of us in eDiscovery. Hey, is it too late to change the title? Just kidding. 😉

Nextpoint has more about the book here, where you can read an excerpt about the eDiscovery Checklist Manifesto and order your own copy! It’s a great book with new content and a great new design, so check it out!

So, what do you think? Want to learn about eDiscovery best practices? Get the book! And please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.