More notes from ILTA educational session on Day 2!

Jennifer Marsnik from Edge Legal Marketing attended another interesting ILTA session on Tuesday afternoon – SaaS as a Strategic Option to Control Litigation Costs. Her notes ~Panelists Michael Lackey from Mayer Brown LLP, Jonathan Mass from Ernst & Young LLP, and Jack Halprin from Autonomy iManage shared an insightful discussion debating the pros and cons to hosting data internally versus using software as a service (SaaS). A good question posed in response to concerns about data security – how many of us really know how secure our data is today, regardless of where it’s currently residing? In-house systems are sometimes less secure than the cloud. Key takeaways: firms are driven by the same economics as most corporations and need to educate decision makers, addressing their fears or concerns head-on. Revenue isn’t going up so costs must come down for firms to gain a competitive advantage. The lowest price does not necessarily equal the lowest cost. Capable project management is critical; lawyers are not PMs.

According to Mr. Lackey, a Sedona Conference () committee is actively working on updated standards for data hosting. Good news for firms negotiating SLAs with their vendors; this should assist in defining process/procedures related to issues including overall data handling, staff training, and what happens to the data after a case is over.

Tip offered to firms: don’t enter into 3rd party data hosting agreements – instead, offer clients a list of “preferred providers” or recommendations for reputable hosting vendors. It’s about risk management, on many levels.