The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) and the National Society for Legal Technology (NSLT) have teamed up to launch the eDiscovery Technology Certificate to provide “students and professionals with career-advancing training and a new designation,” according to a press release. ACEDS, a certification and training association in partnership with the BARBRI Group, has partnered with NSLT to develop a self-paced course driven by interactive, hands-on simulations aimed at recreating real-world situations and providing exposure and practice with software in the field.
“Software is the very heart of electronic discovery, which means professionals must be proficient across a variety of platforms to be successful,” said Michael Quartararo, president of ACEDS. “ … The team at NSLT [has] a long track record of empowering students and professionals with exposure to practical technology solutions. We're excited to offer this new training and designation to students, the e-discovery community and our members.”
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Once the course is complete, participants will be given a certification awarded jointly by both the NSLT and the ACEDS. Those who complete the course will also be given a “digital badge,” should they want one. The curriculum is also designed to prepare professionals and students who finish the course for the E-Discovery Executive Certificate ahead of the Certified E-Discovery Specialist Certification also offered by ACEDS.
“Many software companies report that the majority of users use only about 20% of the features in software,” said Douglas Lusk, NSLT president. “Legal technology is only as good as the professionals who are utilizing it. Our goal is to put the power of the technology in their hands by thoroughly training them on how to use it. The course is extremely relevant not just to law students, but also for professionals already in the e-discovery field. We're thrilled to partner with ACEDS, known for the quality of its offerings and commitment to the e-discovery community, to bring this new certificate to life.”
The e-discovery industry is widely considered one of the hottest in the legal technology-software space. According to Complex Discovery, the industry’s Compound Annual Growth Rate is on pace to hit to a monstrous $15.12 billion by 2025. In 2020, the e-discovery services and software sector was valued just shy of $11 billion in 2020. However, estimates and valuations have been muted by the COVID-19 pandemic, notes Complex, and any plans moving forward should account for such impacts.
“An unanticipated pandemeconomic-driven retraction in eDiscovery spending during 2020 has resulted in the need to reset the baseline market size for ongoing ComplexDiscovery Market Size Mashup reports,” they note. “This adjustment is a decrease of approximately 14% from pre-COVID 2020 forecasts. This revision also equates to a negative 3.03% growth rate between 2019 and 2020.”
For more information about the certification program, visit https://aceds.org/ediscovery-technology-certificate/.