New Non-Profit to Give EDD Certifications

With new certifications available in eDiscovery softwares such as Catalyst CR and EnCase, the legal electronic data discovery industry is acknowledging the need to establish credentials.  Firms and corporations are understanding the need for people to be trained, and the assurance that hires will be competent for the job they’re being paid for.  This is what happens when an industry approaches legitimacy.

The Organization of Legal Professionals is a new non-profit association that understands how legitimate this industry actually is.  Comprised of respected lawyers, consultants, academics and judges, the OLP’s first mission is to “provide the legal community with a means of assuring clients that its e-discovery professionals possess the requisite level of competence and understanding of e-discovery principles”, according to Jeff Fowler of O’Melveny & Myers and member of the Board of Governors.

According to its website:

the OLP is the only organization whose members represent all sectors of the e-discovery profession:  attorneys, paralegals, technical support staff, litigation support professionals, consultants, vendors, software developers and judiciary.

The first certifications offered are for electronic data discovery managers:

• PEDD (Professional in EDD)
• SPEDD (Senior Professional in EDD)
• GEDD (Global Professional in EDD)
• PEDD-CA and SPEDD-CA (PEDD and SPEDD with state certification in California.)

For a complete list of the Board of Governors go here.

Right now there is a lack of qualified eDiscovery staff attorneys, paralegals and IT support.  If this doesn’t confirm that the need for these type of employees is growing, then I don’t know what does.  The integration of legal and technological comprehension is a growing necessity in the legal industry.  And just because you have the understanding of mass litigation and eDiscovery software doesn’t mean you’re going to be an effective project manager.  There are skills involved that require one to be an effective manager of people.  With many lawyers not being great managers and IT support not having an in-depth understanding of the litigation process, the industry is currently void of the requisite number of qualified EDD managers.  There’s also no education track for such a position.  The OLP seems to be taking the first step. 

My prediction, in 2011 we will see joint JD/IT degrees in law schools.