eDiscovery is a complex and sometimes complicated field, but one thing remains constant: the demand for skilled professionals who can guide lawyers and legal teams through the intricate challenges of the process. These individuals ensure compliance with legal obligations while delivering exceptional results. 

This fall I attended both Relativity Fest in Chicago, IL and the Everlaw Summit in San Francisco, CA. Like many of you, at Proteus, we’ve been discussing the topic of Generative AI, so it was no surprise that it was a central theme at these two industry conferences, as well. 

In light of Proteus Discovery Group’s recent acquisition of Novitas Data, we’ve brought together Ray Biederman, Co-Founder and CEO of Proteus, and Rob Oliver, Co-Founder and former CEO of Novitas (and current Vice President at Proteus) to chat about their backgrounds, the evolution of eDiscovery, and the acquisition that’s staged to propel Proteus to new heights.

I’m excited to share some significant news with our clients, partners, and eDiscovery friends: Proteus Discovery Group has officially acquired Novitas Data. It’s an important step for us, doubling our size and greatly enhancing our ability to provide top-tier eDiscovery solutions coast-to-coast.

Short message data is an increasingly important source of evidence in litigation and investigations because so much communication takes place through sources like SMS and MMS texts and platforms like WhatsApp, Slack, and Teams.

Many small and mid-sized law firms approach to eDiscovery consists of cobbling together legacy tools instead of embracing cutting edge eDiscovery and legal technologies like RelativityOne.

This approach is understandable. Ten years ago, when many firms first tool a look at their eDiscovery practices, eDiscovery was a new and expensive concept. Attorneys could in most cases get by through creating PDFs or scanning documents, and judges and opposing counsel typically accepted it without compliant.

In January we published a tongue in cheek bingo card before Legalweek that poked fun of many of the words and phrases used by eDiscovery software and services providers, like “voluminous data” and “explosion of data.”

It was a silly thing, but it resonated because the terms are all ubiquitous.

AmLaw firms get lots of love in eDiscovery circles, leaving many small and mid-sized firms to feel under-resourced and unsure of what to do when they have eDiscovery needs. This brief post is addressed to small law firms, and while it doesn't contain anything earth-shattering, hopefully it will grant a bit of perspective and peace of mind.