Editor's Note: The following article has been jointly contributed by Judd Lifschitz, co-president and the head of the Construction and Litigation & Trial Practice Groups at Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram, P.C., and George D. Carry, an associate in the Construction and Litigation & Trial Practice Groups at Shapiro Lifschitz & Schram, P.C.

Discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) now is a standard part of commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution. As a result, there has been a rapid and robust growth in the number of companies offering ESI collection, management and processing services. Although increased competition and consumer choice generally are positive for law firms and their clients, in-house counsel and executive decision-makers should recognize that this quick and recent boom in the e-vending industry also can result in a kind of “gold rush” factor, thereby flooding the industry with vendors that lack corporate training, experience, equipment and/or software to properly handle clients' data and the needs and demands of electronic discovery.

Recognizing and steering clear of these under- or unqualified vendors is a critical step in the e-vendor selection process. Before choosing an e-vendor for your discovery needs, you should engage in a structured due diligence effort to determine the right company for the specific case at hand. Some areas of inquiry to explore include: