To Self-Collect or not Self-Collect, that is the Question – Part 2 of 2
Posted On: Tuesday, December 2, 2025
In our previous blog post, we discussed having clients collect their own data and questioning if they had the right tools to do the job. But there is another valid concern: Do you trust your client to collect properly?
The attorney who responds to the document request is stating that the documents provided are the relevant documents in response to the request. Without a documented collection process from a third party, there is a larger risk of errors intentional and unintentional. An attorney needs to ask themself if they trust their client to provide the documents that are required.
When clients self-collect, you are leaving it to them to determine what is relevant. Often, they will filter the data in different ways in order to cut down on the amount of data that is collected. They may overlook key time periods and selectively include or exclude data. We frequently have clients say things like “they [the opposing party] already have this” or “they don’t need these documents.” Discovery is not an exercise in providing what the opposing party needs based on your client’s opinion, but rather assembling the group of documents that satisfy the request for documents filed for the case.
Years ago, we had a client IT person transpose a date on a set of searches they were running against a large data set. For a number of reasons, it was many months before the error was discovered and the other side accused the client of intentionally withholding documents when it was an innocent mistake made by an IT person under pressure to get the documents exported.
When an attorney has to decide how to proceed with a collection and their client wants to do it themselves, they should ask themselves: (1) Is my client capable of collecting the documents? (2) Is having the client do the collecting worth the cost savings as opposed to relying on a professional? (3) Is this a case where it is likely that opposing counsel will be focused on discovery and therefore looking for reasons to go after your client for any errors? (4) Do you trust your client to give you all of the documents you need, both the good and the bad?
Target Litigation frequently helps attorneys make these decisions. Our professionals participate in client meetings where we discuss the client’s capabilities and talk to the people who would be doing the collecting. This gives us the ability to give an opinion about who should collect as well as a good cost estimate if the decision is to get some help with collection. If we know one thing, we know that no two cases are alike so you need to evaluate and make a decision based on the specific circumstances of each case.