In the same episode, she shared her insights into why discovery projects continue to be a cornerstone of exceptional client service, even as the litigation landscape evolves and technology continues to reshape the legal profession.

Before delving into the technical aspects of the discovery process, Umoff urged litigation teams to take a step back to assess who are involved in crafting the discovery strategy.

“Before you think about what are those questions to be asking, the real important first step is to ask yourself, who is [on] my team that I want to design this project with?’ she said.

She emphasised the importance of involving experts in document management and discovery during the planning phase, as their extensive knowledge and valuable insights are crucial in guiding teams through the process.

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“The subject matter expert with respect to document management and discovery needs to be involved in planning the discovery project because they will be able to help you liaise with the client to ask the right questions and get the data in the best form in order to set up your database in the best way possible,” she said.

Once the right team is in place, Umoff identified that the next pivotal step is to gain a clear understanding of the scope of data involved.

“The first real step to take is to understand, what is your universe of data? So, are there laptops, servers, phones, and messaging apps? What application does your client use? Do they use Slack? What document management software might they have? All that sort of stuff,” she said.

She expressed how this clarity enables the team to determine what data needs to be collected and how it should be systematically organised.

“You need to map out the whole universe of data to understand the potential scope of the data pool, and then from there, you can start to assess what you actually need to collect and then how you’re going to go about collecting that,” she said.

However, Umoff emphasised that while it may not always be possible to have a rigid step-by-step roadmap for every discovery project – given that each case and client is different – Allie suggests establishing a solid framework for the process.

“There’s a series of questions or a series of things you need to find out from your client every time, but the answers to those will be different.

“So depending on what those answers are, and then, of course, depending on what the nature of the claim is and what your client’s role in that claim is, that will impact the further design of your project,” she said.

The following key consideration is how the discovery review is managed. While some firms outsource document review to third-party vendors, Umoff advocates for keeping the process in-house, highlighting its unique advantages.

“Our firm, the approach that we take is we keep it within the firm and within the team who’s working on the case.

“The reason that we think that that’s the best approach is that the document review discovery process is a great opportunity for your team to really get across the detail of the case, and there is an element of identifying documents that you might want to use later in evidence, in submissions, et cetera,” she said.

She also explained that keeping the process in-house empowers the team to develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the client’s case.

“[It’s] just an element of just understanding your client’s case at such a fundamental level that we have found that that is a really unique opportunity, and that’s the best way to do that.

“If you outsource that discovery review project, you lose that opportunity for all that learning. And there’s not really an organic way to do it at another phase of litigation,” she said.

Despite the complexities of litigation, Umoff underscores the critical value of pausing to conduct a thorough “stocktake” after each discovery process, as this reflective practice ensures teams can learn from each phase, refine their approach, and continuously improve their strategies.

“It is so important to do a stocktake. In the litigation environment, it can be difficult to make time for that, but it is invaluable to the next project and the project after that,” she said.

“If you’re not reflecting on it afterwards and able to identify a few things that you would do differently next time, you’re not doing your job correctly because you’re never perfect. So there’s always room for improvement, and it’s a great opportunity to make those improvements next time.”