RMullen: Add as a Colleague
11/12/2009 2:02:36 PM EST

Assuming you don't mean by "Electronic Discovery Subject Matter Expert" someone with experience in the underlying litigation subject matter, I suggest finding two vendor-agnostic consultants, as soon as the case is filed. Each needs to understand DATA and be empowered to ask tough questions of your firm AND potential vendors to craft a workable process and identify an array of tools to implement it. When I ramp up in 2010 to offer these services, the core distinction I make is between consultants who specialize in data collection and those who know what to do with it once they get it. Any other distinction adds unnecessary layers. These two should work together throughout the process. My focus is purely post-collection.