The year 2015 marks the beginning of a sea change for e-discovery and legal technology staffing and career opportunities. Prospects are bright for ambitious and forward-thinking professionals and increasingly bleak for those comfortable with stagnation and routine. While counting down the year-end, take into account of top 10 notable trends in e-discovery for 2015, and what you need to do to survive and thrive in 2016 and beyond:

1. The Great Roll-Up

With overwhelming consolidation in the service provider space, vertical and financial mobility has shifted away from law firms and corporations and moved to the consultancies and large vendors. There were more jobs than ever before at vendors in 2015, but at fewer actual vendors. The big players are getting much bigger ($100MM+), and the middle market vendors are getting bought. Notable buys this year include Inventus grabbing Unified and Kooby LLP, UBIC's buy of Evolve, Epiq getting Iris Data Services, DTI absorbing Merrill Inc. and TRU Staffing Partners acquiring The Kennett Group and forming the TRU Cyber division.