10 Factors NOT to Lose Your Cool Over in Litigation Support

Venezia Investigative Services, former NYPD Sergeant: Ideally you will benefit from my many years of experience. It is easy to get irritated about particular situations when performing in the litigation support field. There are many instances when I used to get frustrated in my younger years. I’ve also seen some litigation support professionals that maintain that negative energy too long or hold grudges.Depending on the culture of the firm, situations comparable to these 10 items may or may not occur. Unfortunately, more often than not, they do occur.

My suggestions: Try really hard NOT to lose your cool over items like these. Take deep breaths, “let it go” and proceed on.

  • Last Second Requests
There are many occasions where a request arrives on the desk of litigation support at the last minute. Some of these last second requests are legitimate but most of them are simply because the legal team neglected to give litigation support a prior heads-up. “Let it go”
  • Friday Afternoon Requests
It is an inside joke in litigation support sectors that requests arriving at 5:30 PM on a Friday are par for the course. Some providers have been known to sit by their phone on Friday evening waiting for that unavoidable call from a law firm. “Let it go”
  • The Legal Team Does Not Follow Your Suggestions
No matter how organized you are, how right you are or how experienced you are, there WILL be scenarios where the legal team will come to a decision against your recommendation. It can happen for a variety of reasons and sometimes it can have no reflection on you. “Let it go”
  • The Legal Team Utilizes an Outside Consultant
There are situations where a consultant gets a sales meeting with an individual on the legal team, markets their expert services and the legal team will eventually hire that consultant instead of using the firm’s litigation support workforce. This can feel very insulting. You are an expert in your field, but I have seen it happen over and over where in-house consultants are not regarded as experts. Ironically, once you are no longer with a law firm and working for a service provider, the legal team considers you to be much more of an expert. It’s silly, but it happens. “Let it go”
  • The Client Dictates Which Vendor Will Be Used
The service suppliers are marketing to the corporations and engaging in annual contracts. The client will then determine to outside counsel which vendor will be used on a particular case. This can be for the processing, the scanning, the review platform, or the review attorneys etc. Hopefully the service provider is one that you like and trust to do good work. Other times you may have no prior expertise using the vendor. The worst situation is where you have had an unsatisfactory prior experience with a vendor that you are now being told you must use again. “Let it go”
  • You Perceive Inefficiencies and No One Else Seems to Care
This one can be very aggravating if you are a “streamlined workflow process” fanatic. You might believe that in taking the fewest amount of steps achievable. You may have learned to touch the documents only once. Someone on the legal team may have their own way of doing things and they are not open to suggestions about using technological innovation to improve efficiency. “Let it go”
  • A Keyword Search Term List That Clearly Needs Remodeling
A keyword checklist has been created that has too many terms or terms that are too general or some other concerns, but you are not offering the opportunity to provide consulting. “Let it go”
    • Requests for Blow-backs Galore
Even though there is a completely excellent database, the legal team proceeds to request blow-backs galore to put into binders. “Let it go”
  • Hurried Productions
You have recommended the legal team when you need them to complete their evaluation so that you have sufficient time to prepare an accurate production prior to the deadline, however they continue to force the envelope. This causes you to put together a production in a hurry which is more likely to cause human error and it definitely triggers undue stress. “Let it go”
  • Forced Estimates
No matter how many instances you tell the legal team that you are incapable to estimate the exact number of docs or pages or a timeline because there are too many factors, the partner pressures you to give an estimation anyway. If your calculate (that you didn’t want to give in the first place) turns out to be too far off, an individual gets upset and vendors can be firedt it go”
  • Have you realized out the moral of this story? Do the best you can!
Provide the best consulting you can. Create suggestions or offer your expertise when given the chance. Be ready for situations like the examples above to happen. Don’t take it personally if things don’t go the way you’d desire. Don’t cut a relationship. Try to take things in stride. There will be plenty of situations where you ARE heard.

source :
http://litigationsupportguru.com/10-things-not-to-lose-your-cool-over-in-litigation-support

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