2009 is almost here. What will change in e-discovery? What trends will emerge in the coming year? And what can you do now that will give you an advantage in 2009.

Here is my prediction for changes in the e-discovery landscape during the coming year.

E-Discovery plans will become standard at large corporations.

Companies are increasingly realizing the need to have an e-discovery preparedness plan, which includes procedures for the routine destruction of records and documents, steps to implement a litigation hold, and a documented process for e-discovery once litigation occurs. Large and Frequently litigated companies were the first to establish litigation preparedness plans. Large companies will follow, with smaller companies slowing adapting over the next few years.

Infrequently litigated companies will increasingly utilize e-discovery consultants.

Companies first reaction to FRCP e-discovery rules was to figure out e-discovery on their own. This is great for frequently litigated companies. But companies that are rarely in litigation are finding it is not cost effective to have e-discovery staff on payroll.

Small law firms and solo practice attorneys will increasingly use e-discovery in their cases.

Early adopters, those who use e-discovery in litigation, generally included litigators in large, expensive cases or cases clearly necessitating electronic evidence.  But many attorneys simply ignored electronic evidence, possibly because of the complexity of e-discovery and the cost of e-discovery.

As e-discovery awareness improves, and e-discovery solutions get cheaper, mainstream attorneys are increasingly utilizing e-discovery to find evidence in their cases. For example, family law attorneys are starting to see the value of emails in Gmail and Hotmail accounts. Of course, technology-adverse attorneys may remain resistant to e-discovery; these are the attorneys who have refused Microsoft Word because “WordPerfect will do just fine, thank you.”

E-Discovery pricing models will change.

Should e-discovery be based on the amount of data collected, the amount of data reviewed, the number of custodians, or some other factor? The electronic discovery industry is currently wrestling with these questions and some vendors will likely make changes in 2009, if only to differentiate themselves from other e-discovery vendors.

E-Discovery will increasingly expand to include evidence on the internet.

People are increasingly placing information on the internet. This includes what people post to social networking sites (FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.), web mail providers (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.), online forums, wikis, online office suites (Google Docs, Zoho Office, ThinkFree, Ajax13, etc.). As more information gets posted online, attorneys will increasingly seek online data and computer forensic experts to collect the online data.

E-discovery specialization will increase.

Currently, most e-discovery vendors are generalists. E-discovery is so new that there hasn’t been time for specialization. But as the e-discovery industry gets saturated with vendors, companies will start differentiating by specialization. Further, clients will want vendors to have experience in an e-discovery area before they are retained. For example, every vendor will be able to work with Microsoft Outlook. But when a company needs help with a Cray computer, a 50,000 computer network, or encrypted iPhone records, the company will want a vendor with experience and tools for that niche.

Law firms will increasingly establish cross-function e-discovery teams.

As e-discovery becomes more popular, law firms need to have a team that can respond to e-discovery projects. Teams will be comprised of attorneys, paralegals, and IT professionals who can work together to respond to e-discovery tasks that arise from the firm’s litigation.

The electronic discovery industry will continue to grow.

The increasing utilization of e-discovery in litigation will result in higher demand for attorneys who understand e-discovery and vendors who can do the technical e-discovery work. E-discovery is in its infancy, and it will experience another growth spurt in 2009.

That’s my prognostication. What electronic discovery trends or changes do you think will occur in 2009? Leave comment below or talk in the eDiscovery Forum.

Related posts:

1. 2008 Electronic Discovery Trends
2. LegalTech 2009
3. 2009 E-Discovery Events
4. ESI Professional
5. How to Buy Electronic Discovery Software
6. 2008 Litigation Trends Survey Includes E-Discovery
7. Cheap E-Discovery: Inexpensive Electronic Discovery Solutions
8. Cheap E-Discovery: Tips for Inexpensive Electronic Discovery