Electronic-Discovery

Looking to jump-start your legal technology career but don't know how? Jared Coseglia of TRU Staffing Partners writes a monthly column on certifications to know and training to acquire in the industry for Legaltech News. This month's piece takes a look at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law's eDiscovery Technology Professional Certificate.

Law schools are more regularly integrating or offering addendum education specific to e-discovery technology and processes to their core curriculum. Perhaps one of the most established examples is the University of Florida's Law School, led by William Hamilton, which includes not only a full course curriculum on ESI, but also a one-of-a-kind one-day eDiscovery conference, administered live and virtually with CLE accreditation. Joining these ranks is Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (CMLaw), which now boasts a program nearing a two-year anniversary that offers an eDiscovery Technology Professional Certificate for aspiring legal technology professionals.

The founder and driving force behind this program is industry veteran Robert Eisenberg, who has assembled an all-star faculty who have donated their time and knowledge to the content and delivery of content. “Everybody is a volunteer,” says Eisenberg. “All instructors are giving of their time.” The faculty includes a roster of recognizable litigation support and ESI household names: Juan Carlos Abelairas, Catherine Casey, Scott M. Cohen, Emily Fedeles, Patrick Garbe, Peg Gianuca, Stephen Goldstein, James Zucker, Jason Temple, Brad Schaffel, Jason Rylander, Debbie Reynolds, Rose Hunter Jones, Bryant Isbell, James Sherer and the Honorable John M. Facciola—just to name a few.

Eisenberg is also the founding chair of the once singular source of similar training at Georgetown Law's Advanced eDiscovery Institute. “The genesis for the CMLaw certificate came from the absence and need for a program that was fully immersive,” says Eisenberg. “We wanted to create a program where students don't have to travel, don't have to pay extreme tuitions and can complete the training in their own time,” adds Eisenberg. “So we came up with this program and are thankful for CMLaw, which has been very forward thinking in their approach.”

The clear industry leader now for years regarding educational (as opposed to vocational, aka software-specific certification like a Relativity, Nuix or Brainspace) ESI training and certification is, and continues to be, the ACEDS certification from Barbri. ACEDS, however, services many colleges and serves as augmentation to their curriculum as opposed to just one. “The CMLaw eDiscovery Technology Professional Certificate is not like ACEDS,” says Eisenberg. “We are a more technology-focused program.”

The distinction here may lie around Eisenberg's shift away from the law of ESI and more toward the practicality of it, though CEDS certainly boasts a dual focus on both technology processes as well as legal acumen in the vertical. “There is some law that must be taught, namely a solid three-hour module by Judge Facciola, but the focus is on the tech gap in the market,” explains Eisenberg. Another key difference between the CEDS and CMLaw's eDiscovery Technology Professional Certificate is that CEDS is a certification and CM Law is a law school-granted certificate, each coming with different testing and validation criteria. The CMLaw program may be more readily compared to the ACEDS eDEx certificate. Both programs do offer a digital badge that provides verification of credentials and program completion through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media outlets. This has been valuable to students looking to use their training as leverage for promotion or job mobility.

The CMLaw program does integrate some vendor demos and tool exposure—notably from EDT and Brainspace—but does not focus holistically on getting students hands-on training with brand-specific tools. The program consists of 12 modules:

  1. An Overview of ESI;
  2. Sources and Phases of ESI Data;
  3. Foundational Tools and Data Processing Basics;
  4. Production;
  5. Analytics and Technology-Assisted Review;
  6. Global Data Considerations;
  7. Strategic Project Planning and Management;
  8. Managing Vendors, Negotiating an SOW and Budget;
  9. In-House vs. Outsourcing;
  10. Metrics and Trending;
  11. Cybersecurity; and
  12. The Law of eDiscovery.

The modules are self-guided and can be taken in any order, but this listing is the suggested order for the course material. Each module is roughly three hours. Students have full access to the entire 12-module portfolio of training for one year once registered and can take modules over as many times as desired. The trainings are asynchronous and involve the trainee answering questions every 15 to 20 minutes on topics being delivered.

“The target audience is just about anybody that is interested in e-discovery,” states Eisenberg. So far, the registrants run the full demographic of staff attorneys and document review attorneys who want additional education and credentials to paralegals and litigation support pros looking for that extra edge. “Right now, most of the people who register are practice support people,” says Eisenberg. Updates will be made regularly to the content, especially around changes in the case law.

Interestingly enough, when asked what module gives students the most challenges, Eisenberg quickly points to the data processing curriculum. “The thing that slows folks down the most is usually the processing of data and the creation of load files,” admits Eisenberg. While technology automation has decreased the abundance of jobs singularly focused on data processing over the last five years, the market demand for seasoned data processing talent has slightly increased in the last year due to the slowly developing drought of available and experienced talent that wants to or knows how to process data as their core responsibility. This module, though difficult, may prove to be the most career-leveraging training for someone looking to transition to a more technically focused ESI position.

To demo the program visit ediscoveryed.org/info/demo, or visit ediscoveryed.org for more information.

Jared Coseglia is the founder and CEO of TRU Staffing Partners, an Inc 5000 Fastest Growing American Company 2016 & 2017 and National Law Journal's #1 Legal Staffing Agency. Jared has over 15 years of experience representing thousands of professionals in e-discovery, cybersecurity and privacy throughout the world.