By Brett Tarr, eMag Solutions

If you know hard drives, tape back-up systems and electronic data exchange protocols from A to Z, you won't necessarily make a good electronic data discovery project manager (PM). If you're a legal professional, intimately familiar with the laws and regulations governing a specific issue in a specific jurisdiction, you may not make a good EDD manager, either. If you're a 20-year veteran of corporate or law firm management and administration, you can fall flat on your face trying to manage an electronic discovery monstrosity. If you consider yourself a budgeting expert, good for you - but don't consider yourself a shoo-in for this job.

If you're all of the above, you still might not make it as an EDD project manager. In today's multimillion-dollar, multimillion-document lawsuits and regulatory inquiries, the ideal PMs are a new, absolutely unique breed.

Technician? Paralegal? Genie in a Bottle?

Electronic discovery vendors rely on talented project managers to steer the e-discovery task from start to finish. Simultaneously, this professional functions as the primary liaison between the vendor and client. Similarly, inhouse support departments rely on these individuals to ensure attorney expectations are met throughout an e-Discovery project. Traditionally, the role was mainly one of communication. The project manager would keep the client/attorney abreast of progress during discovery operations, reporting on work that had been accomplished, work remaining and estimated timetables for completion.

The tremendous growth in electronically stored information (ESI) has complicated the discovery process. One result is a more complex relationship between the project manager and client. Progress reports still are part of the job - but they're now the easy part. In a real sense, today's project manager, whether an outside service provider or an in-house support resource, truly partners with the client. The manager must understand the client's underlying needs and establish a common vocabulary with the client's project lead. At times, the client is served best if the vendor can redeploy its operational resources in mid-project. The PM must know how to make that happen.

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