After a long, uncertain summer, it appears that the dam is breaking for the E-Discovery industry. The Cowen Groups Q3 Staffing Report found that 35% of major law firms, and 29% of F500 Corporations, anticipate adding staff by years end. In both sectors, nearly half of respondents worked more hours in Q3 than Q2, 2009 – largely due to additional workflow.
Firms and corporations have realigned their strategy to focus on cautious expansion while simultaneously recognizing that continued reliance on existing staff can create long-term staff burnout and exodus.
If you’d like a copy of the report or a full rundown on the 175 law firms and 55 high fortune companies that were surveyed, please contact me (David@CowenGroup.com).
For the past year, The Cowen Group has been surveying the marketplace to determine staffing trends, in light of the tough times law firms, vendors and corporations have gone through. We have just launched our Q3 survey and have some preliminary “tidbits” to share with you. The good news for all, is that only a small fraction of our surveyed database plan on reducing staffing the upcoming quarter. Next Wednesday we will have the comprehensive results of the survey to share with you, including data on work load, outsourcing, etc.
As I look forward, I realize that the data that we have is significant for all, but there are many other issues that concern our industry and we have the opportunity to examine those issues in depth. I have partnered with Jeanette Slepian , former Sr. VP Sales and Marketing at Fios, to develop a comprehensive survey of our industry which will identify leading trends in not only staffing but spending on related litigation and e-discovery services. What professional and IT-enabled services will law firms and corporations be investing in? Will the trend of “vendor consolidation” gain further momentum in 2010? These and numerous other critical issues will be analyzed in our first annual forecast. Stay tuned for more details.
P.S. Congratulations to Jared Coseglia, our Senior VP, for the first Episode of his Career Corner Podcast posted on ILTA… John Kapp (Shearman & Sterling), Jeannie Larrea-Manzano (Wachtell Lipton) and Brad Schaffel (WilmerHale) share their insight about the exciting evolution of their careers in the litigation support industry. Listen Here
I just wanted to write a quick thank you blog to Martha Mazzone, Patrick Oot, David Boyhan, Warren Solow and everyone who participated in our Breakfast Roundtable on Tuesday morning, April 21st to our discuss Measuring and Evaluating In-House E-Discovery Legal Spend.
Our preliminary Critical Trends Survey on the subject came back with some interesting facts:
90% of Corporate E-Discovery managers are not able to track the details of their E-Discovery budget.
Only 30% of Corporate E-Discovery managers are able to calculate their E-Discovery legal spend budget. For the rest, legal spend is simply a line on their cost sheet.
While 58% of Corporate E-Discovery managers currently have E-Discovery hosting In-House, another 24% intend on doing so within the next year.
While 33% of Corporate E-Discovery managers currently have E-Discovery processing In-House, another 31% intend on doing so within the next year.
More Corporate E-Discovery managers have advanced degrees (65%) than do AmLaw200 E-Discovery managers (18%).
Our next Breakfast Roundtable will be held June 9th, where we will discuss How to Compare and Contrast Early Case Assessment Tools and Offerings.
If you would like a copy of this report, or if you would like to join the June 9th dialogue by taking our preliminary survey, email William@CowenGroup.com.
Good news…Despite the recent decline in the banking, brokerage, and financial community the legal staffing realm continues to grow! As a result, The Cowen Group is pleased to share with you our latest announcement:
THE COWEN GROUP LAUNCHES LEGAL TECHNOLOGY DIVISION
Search firm expands beyond litigation support recruiting and staffing to fulfill increased demand for top talent in legal technology
NEW YORK – September 17, 2008 – The Cowen Group (www.cowengroup.com), a New York-based recruiting and staffing firm specializing in litigation support and e-discovery, today announces the expansion of services to include placement of top talent in legal technology positions. The Cowen Group helps human resource departments with staffing needs for CIO, director of information technology, system engineers, software developers and analysts.
Despite a slowing economy, The Cowen Group Salary Survey shows the demand for legal technology, litigation support and e-discovery resources required to operate successful law firms and corporate legal IT departments continues to rise.
As law firms and corporate legal departments become more technically sophisticated, there is a growing need for technical experts that understand how to analyze, develop, deploy and administer new systems and protocols that not only fit the organization’s culture, but are compliant with regulatory agency requirements. Historical cases such as Morgan Stanley or Zubulake and federal regulation such as SOX and the newly amended FRCP have made every attorney take a second look at their in-house technology and protocol. History proves that not abiding by these rules and regulations sets an organization up for heavy sanctions or possibly an organization’s dreadful demise.
“In this global economy our clients require a strategic partner who can provide expertise in identifying and matching the best human resources with the best organization,” stated David Cowen, founder and president of The Cowen Group. “We have created an extensive network of talented legal technology professionals and provide valuable market intelligence for many of our clients. We are now seizing upon our vision to remain as the leader in market insight and talent placement and look forward to helping our clients expand and grow every way possible.”
More information on The Cowen Group can be found at www.cowengroup.com.
About The Cowen Group
The Cowen Group (www.cowengroup.com) was founded in 2004 and is a New York-based search firm specializing in the placement of experienced professionals in all areas of the legal technology industry, including e-discovery, litigation support, practice management, IT and computer forensics across the United States and Europe.
We are pleased to announce the publication of The Cowen Group 2008 Salary Survey and our partnership with Litigation Support Today Magazine:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE COWEN GROUP AND LITIGATION SUPPORT TODAY BRING IMPORTANT SALARY SURVEY INFORMATION TO THE LEGAL TECHNOLOGY MARKET
Industry-leading publication and placement firm bring much-anticipated and timely information to litigation support professionals
NEW YORK – August 6th, 2008 – The Cowen Group (www.cowengroup.com), a leading search firm specializing in the legal technology market, and Litigation Support Today, a magazine for the litigation support professional, today announces they will be working together to bring The Cowen Group Salary Survey to the legal community at large.
The Cowen Group Salary Survey was developed by The Cowen Group by researching top law firms, corporations and vendors in the legal space for their annual survey. Until now, this coveted information has only been available to select professional clients and associates. Litigation Support Today will be publishing the results of the survey, by region, throughout the year, beginning with the East Coast which will appear in the August/September 2008 issue. A full report will be distributed at the beginning of 2009 that will contain all the salary data, comprehensive job descriptions and industry growth trends.
“This definitive and impartial survey by The Cowen Group sets the benchmark for litigation support professionals seeking to grow in their careers,” stated Albert J. Buckwalter, editor-in-chief of Litigation Support Today. “We are pleased to be collaborating with The Cowen Group in bringing this highly useful survey information to our readers and the industry at large.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Litigation Support Today. They are a very well-respected media organization within the litigation support community and together we aim to extend our reach in getting the word out to key people in the industry at large,” stated David Cowen, founder and president of The Cowen Group. “The industry is changing rapidly and we hope this survey provides vital information to allow litigation support professionals to adequately plan and track their career growth and for managers to hire and retain the right people for their needs.”
More information on The Cowen Group Salary Survey can be found at www.cowengroup.com.
About The Cowen Group
The Cowen Group (www.cowengroup.com) was founded in 2004 and is a New York-based search firm specializing in the placement of experienced professionals in all areas of the legal technology industry, including e-discovery, litigation support, practice management, and computer forensics across the United States and Europe.
About Litigation Support Today
Litigation Support Today (www.litigationsupporttoday.com) is published by Conexion International Media, Inc. a division of Conexion International LTD, Inc. (http://conexioninternationalltd.com) a private international consortium that specializes in the development of print and electronic media for niche markets in North America, South America and Asia-Pacific. Litigation Support Today is issued quarterly, with controlled circulation to qualified litigation & practice support directors, managers, specialists, analysts, courtroom technology specialists, legal assistants/paralegals heavily engaged in litigation support activities, and other legal support staff.
About Us
The Cowen Group is the nation's leading search firm specializing in staffing and recruiting for Litigation Support, Practice Support andMore...
