EdiscoveryCanada.com

CHICAGO—The Association of Litigation Support Professionals, or ALSP, officially incorporated earlier this month with a mission to establish global standards for the litigation support profession through collaboration, education and certification.

ALSP membership comprises representatives from every stage of the litigation process who have come together with a shared goal of advancing the profession and contributing to the career development of practitioners around the world. The association is the first of its kind to create a cohesive group that encourages the full participation, including at board and committee levels, of members from all stages of the litigation process— technology support vendors to legal practitioners.

“As our industry continues to grow and evolve, so too does the complexity of requirements and demands placed on the practice of litigation support,” said Karen Brookman, ALSP Steering Committee member and President of Commonwealth Legal. “Through ALSP, we are able to leverage global knowledge and expertise across various litigation support disciplines to develop a common approach and a set of best practices which help support and advance both the profession itself and those working within it. It is an honor to be involved with the development of this organization.”

With legislation surrounding the use of e-discovery in large-scale litigation cases, interest and curiosity in this area of litigation support is growing rapidly. George Socha, co-author of the annual Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery Survey, has studied the e-discovery market since 2003. The 2007 survey estimates the e-discovery market will reach the $4 billion mark by 2009, doubling reported 2006 commercial e-discovery revenues of nearly $2 billion, which were up a remarkable 51 percent from 2005.

Association leaders invite companies providing products and services for litigation support professionals to join members’ concerted efforts and participate in ALSP’s Charter Sponsor program. Charter Sponsors have a unique opportunity to benchmark their companies as industry leaders by supporting the development of ALSP, offering perspectives and insight to association leaders, and sharing news and information with a broad range of individuals involved with all sectors of the litigation support profession.

Only a limited number of charter sponsorships are available, and the Charter Sponsor program ends Sept. 30, 2007. Complete details are on the ALSP Web site: http://www.alsponline.org/Sponsorship/tabid/68/Default.aspx

Or contact:

Scott Narug, ALSP Charter Sponsor Program Manager

312.673.5974; snarug@alsponline.org