Well-Being for E-Discovery Professionals

Although there has been a lot of discussion about wellness lately, little has been said about the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of e-discovery professionals. Ari Kaplan interviewed Amy Sellers, senior legal counsel for e-discovery and operations at the CBRE Group and one of the founders of the Mind-Budget Connection, a new organization focused on empowering e-discovery professionals. 

According to Sellers, despite the impression that AI can do anything, e-discovery takes a lot of work and human input. It is an incredibly important part of litigation, yet there is enormous pressure on people to do things quickly, accurately and cheaply. The most challenging areas for e-discovery professionals are being under-resourced, managing new data types and sources, and navigating cost controls. COVID has added extra pressure and stress, as well as isolation and increased work. “We are seeing mental well-being deteriorate along with an increased number of posts about suicide, addiction, depression, [being overwhelmed] and burnout,” says Sellers. “Our goal is to raise awareness and help people change their approach to e-discovery projects and litigation to accommodate the human elements, and we want to empower people to do work they can be proud of at a fair rate of compensation, which makes them feel valued.”