Staffing your litigation support team in the 90s.

It is the kind of case you dreamed about in law school -- multi parties, multi issues and mega money on the line, both your client's and your firm's. It's the big one -- with big challenges that will produce big rewards or big nightmares, depending on how you handle the case.

Somewhere in hundreds, perhaps thousands of boxes of documents lies the key, but you're facing a major administrative and organizational challenge, requiring both the most up-to-the-minute technology and the most cost-effective staffing methods. While you're looking for that "smoking gun," your client is looking at your bills.

Sound familiar? It might, because the reality of litigation management in the '90s requires all firms that wish to remain profitable and competitive to deal with major, complex litigation in a radically different manner than they might have in the past.

Automated Litigation Support

The numbers of documents that attend any litigation process these days is enormous. And, as the numbers continue to grow, more law firms are turning to database systems to help manage the load.

A litigation support database enables you to manage large numbers of documents, search through them and extract information with unparalleled speed and accuracy. But it does not operate by itself.

Enter the litigation support team. In years past, most firms had ample staff to handle all but the largest cases-in-house. Firms maintained as "regular" employees sufficient attorneys, paralegals, case clerks and secretaries to dedicate whole teams to one matter exclusively, creating "war rooms" and working night and day, if necessary, to prepare the case for trial.

The New Breed of Specialists

But present economic conditions dictate an entirely different approach to litigation management. In today's post-recession law firms -- where support staff has been reduced substantially -- wisdom holds that a firm may find itself stretched to the limit to use in-house "regular" employees on large-scale projects. And despite the fact that the volume of litigation may remain heavy, litigators find themselves under increasing pressure to settle major cases. The variable duration of the work does not warrant increasing "regular" personnel, whose total benefits, worker's comp and employer's tax costs may add as much as 39 percent to the base salary.

Because demand fluctuates so widely, firms must have fast and flexible solutions to deal with litigation support surges. Increasingly, firms now turn to teams composed of temporary litigation support specialists.

These specialists bring with them specific training and experience crucial to the success of the project. Depending on the scope of the case and the types of technology used, firms can identify exactly those resources required and expediently retain personnel with the help of a specialized temporary service.

They can call upon paralegals and other temporary specialists to handle caseloads on an as-needed basis. Each phase of a case can be staffed up or down for the most efficient distribution of responsibilities, calling upon temporary team members whose skills and background are precisely matched to the nature of the tasks they will be performing.

Designing and Building the Litigation Support Team

The kind of team you'll need should be determined even before the firm has been retained as counsel for the matter. A law firm which can present a proposal outlining the anticipated scope and complexities of a case, the volume of records to be handled, the recommended technology to be utilized and the number of personnel -- temporary or in-house -- will not only demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the nature of the litigation process, but may also be able to circumvent cost objections which the clients may raise once the process begins.

Be careful to screen for several important factors any temporary service you may use to create the support team. The service you choose must have the expertise and background to understand your project, a suitably large roster of skilled candidates and references from clients.

Try to work with a service which employs former paralegals or legal administrators who will understand your firm's needs and can "speak the language." Finally, ensure that the agency has the essential liability insurance coverage for its employees, is in compliance with all labor laws and is capable of generating accurate time and billing reports for cost control purposes.

Staffing the Team in Phases

Most firms will select either an attorney or a senior paralegal to oversee the project from start to finish -- a "team leader." In either instance, this first staffing decision is a crucial one. The team leader will be responsible for planning and delegating important tasks and subsequently overseeing the work of each team member.

The project leader will determine exactly what resources are needed, how many people should participate and what their roles will be.

A paralegal coordinator at a Los Angeles-based firm found that using temporary personnel and staffing in phases was the key to a smoothly-operating team. Her firm had inherited a major civil litigation case to be tried before the Los Angeles Superior Court. With only two months to go before trial, the firm received 125 uncoded and disorganized boxes of documents along with 85 deposition transcripts.

The team she set up provides an excellent example of how to match staff with the size of the job. It consisted of two temporary lead paralegals (assigned for the life of the project); they supervised between 10 and 15 temporary paralegals working on three separate project documents. These paralegals labored 12 hours a day, six days a week for the first two months of preparation. Two other temporary employees -- an administrative assistant and a full-time general helper -- rounded out the team.

Ongoing Communication is Critical

Another major Los Angeles firm's legal assistants supervisor recommends weekly meetings with support staff and attorneys to review how the discovery is proceeding and to address any problems or concerns. Depending on the complexity of the case, it may be necessary to obtain informal, daily status reports as well.

This supervisor's largest career case involved a "warehouse of documents" amounting to more than three million pages of materials in a product liability suit. She hired 12 to 14 document coders and reviewers. Her team was actually part of a larger group of 40 to 60 coders supervised by six to 10 paralegals. The experience, she said, highlighted the importance of directing workers in a carefully orchestrated, meticulously planned, proactive way.

During the discovery and documentation phase, the supervisor routinely discussed with the attorneys goals for the case. These goals enabled her to develop long-range, strategic planning to staff her team.

The Basics of Team Building

When staffing the litigation support team, some of these general guidelines may be helpful:

* A supervising attorney is essential to head an effective team. However, to utilize an attorney to supervise all aspects of litigation teams is extremely costly and, at times, counterproductive. Senior paralegals are qualified to work with attorneys to identify key documents to review and code. The same senior paralegals regularly present progress reports to the attorney, providing greater cost-savings to the client. A senior paralegal with good case management skills does not-need to come from in-house; temporary project specialists with substantive experience can easily step in to coordinate the team.

* From the very beginning of the project, each team member must be carefully selected to ensure that the group will function harmoniously. There can be some tense moments during the litigation process, and this team will be spending a lot of time together. Keep the team members informed as to the quality and progress of their work. A remarkable "esprit de corps" can be generated when all on board feel as though they are part of an important team! Try to utilize one source in gathering your temporary employees to keep the quality consistent and simplify the billing process. Utilize one contact at the agency as the "point person" for team members.

* After the project has started, the senior paralegal or project supervisor should promote the best, most accurate coders to be "check coders" or "quality check coders." By catching mistakes in advance, these individuals will save countless hours of recoding.

* Junior to mid-level paralegals generally have experience appropriate for document review. These team members must know the rules of evidence and privilege; be able to code and number documents according to document productions and designated exhibits; and know how to utilize the firm's database system. This kind of background best comes from experience as a paralegal or from training in a paralegal certification program.

* Case clerks or entry level paralegals can Bates stamp, photocopy and organize in chronological order the documents. They can also code simple documents in "crunch" situations.

* Identify a suitable location for the "war room" where the team will work. Often, a document or file clerk will be in charge of the area. In very large cases with more than one million documents, a repository or library will be required.

If you are fortunate enough to bring into your firm, or be assigned to manage, a case large enough to warrant a team, you can expect extensive hours, grueling work, long nights and tremendous challenges. Say goodbye to your weekends for awhile.

If you can put together a lean and mean cost-cutting litigation team of dedicated and qualified temporary paralegals, your strategic planning and visionary, '90s approach may help you beat the opposition across the finish line.

Florence Kanofsky is president of The Affiliates, a temporary and permanent employment agency for legal personnel in Southern California.