BIA Marks Important Milestone as Entire eDiscovery Project Management Team Achieves Certified eDiscovery Specialist Accreditation

USA/Canada News

28
Apr
2020

Editor

BIA, a leading national eDiscovery and digital forensics company, today announced that two more of its project managers have become Certified eDiscovery Specialists (CEDS), which means BIA’s entire project management department has earned CEDS credentials.

The certification is constructed and developed by the Association of E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), a member organization for eDiscovery professionals in the private and public sectors.

“The CEDS certification is a validation that a professional knows the eDiscovery industry inside out,” said Richard Laguerre, BIA’s vice president of project management. “Project managers are involved in every step of a project, so it’s essential that they are experts in the full scope of eDiscovery. Our clients can trust that any project manager they work with at BIA will be one of the very best in the industry, as proven by the rigorous requirements of ACEDS.” 

Developed in 2010, the CEDS exam is the legal industry’s only independent, psychometrically sound certification process that tests and validates individuals’ knowledge and skills of eDiscovery best practices. It covers the industry’s 15 areas of focus: information management and litigation readiness, project planning, litigation hold implementation, collection planning and implementation, data processing, data culling, review planning, document review, data production, project management, legal framework and obligation, international discovery, ethics, technology and budgeting. To complete certification, individuals must obtain 40 credits in professional experience, education and training, receive two professional references and pass a four-hour exam. To keep the certification current, individuals must meet a multitude of continuing education criteria, which ensures CEDS remain on top of critical industry knowledge and workflows.    

“It’s nearly unheard of for an entire project management staff to be CEDS certified,” said ACEDS President Mike Quartararo. “We’ve found that the certification enhances project managers’ communication, reduces errors and increases successful outcomes in client engagement. Essentially, it proves that the individual has the knowledge and skill to marshal resources and execute tasks across the entire eDiscovery spectrum.”  

BIA’s project managers are responsible for managing clients’ projects from initial contact through to completion, including facilitating all contact with the client, disseminating information internally and managing projects’ timelines and budgets.

BIA strongly encourages and even incentivizes its employees to become CEDS certified. In fact, the company pays for all training and the exam itself, and employees completing certification receive a raise in annual salary. 

“Project managers are typically only associated with the PMP certification, and as important as that accomplishment is, we also highly encourage the CEDS certification,” said Senior Vice President of Business Development Mark MacDonald. Being well-versed in eDiscovery methods and technologies across the entire EDRM means our clients are working with project managers who not only know how to manage projects, but they are also experts in the business of discovery. That’s what we deliver.”