Key Takeaway: Forensic Project Managers play a crucial role in ensuring defensible digital forensics collections. Their expertise ensures speed and accuracy throughout a matter and occasionally across related matters. Investing in digital forensics services with dedicated FPMs reduces risk, improves efficiency, and drives successful litigation outcomes. This expertise has become even more critical as lawyers and investigators confront the sheer volume and complexity of digital evidence across devices and cloud sources.

Success in litigation and investigations, particularly those in which data volumes are massive and timelines are tight, increasingly hinges on a single critical factor: precision. Achieving precision frequently relies on the indispensable yet often overlooked role of the Forensic Project Manager (FPM), who ensures defensible and efficient litigation outcomes.

FPMs are more than facilitators; they are strategic partners who ensure that every phase of a forensic project is executed with clarity, defensibility, and efficiency. Their expertise in digital forensics services is foundational to the success of legal matters involving forensic data collections or analysis, and a party that overlooks the importance of project management does so at their peril.

Why the Forensic Project Manager Matters

Although legal teams typically focus on major case milestones and metrics (e.g., motions, documents reviewed, productions made, etc.), the predicate to those is identifying, preserving, collecting, and analyzing data in a way that is both defensible and aligned with the legal strategy of the matter. The FPM plays an integral role in this workflow.

As the primary point of contact for clients during the digital forensics collection phase, FPMs bring expertise across digital forensics, project management, and legal processes. This differentiates them from forensic practitioners who travel to onsite collections, as the FPM’s role extends well beyond overseeing data collection.

FPMs actively participate in scoping and kickoff calls to define project requirements and align with the legal strategy. They coordinate with IT teams to ensure proper access and compliance with required security protocols while managing timelines and budgets to keep projects on track.

Throughout the process, FPMs provide real-time updates and documentation to all stakeholders. They serve as a key resource in answering technical and strategic questions related to data sources, privacy, and collection methodologies. This level of involvement is crucial to conduct collections that are not only technically sound but also aligned with the broader legal strategy. Moreover, by serving throughout the engagement, FPMs provide continuity and responsiveness.

How Forensic Project Managers Empower the Electronic Discovery Reference Model

The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) outlines the stages of eDiscovery from information governance to final presentation. FPMs play a pivotal role at the earliest and most sensitive phases of the EDRM. Digital forensics expertise ensures that foundational steps, such as data identification, preservation, and collection, are executed defensibly. While their primary focus is on these early stages, the decisions they make and workflows they shape directly support downstream processing, review, and production activities across the broader eDiscovery lifecycle.

Without a skilled FPM, these critical initial stages are vulnerable to missteps. For example, when clients attempt to self-collect data or use suppliers without dedicated FPMs, the result is often incomplete collections or improperly handled data. This can lead to a host of problems, including:

• Misplaced media
• Loss of metadata
• Missed collection requests leading to missing data in a review set
• Chain-of-custody issues
• Delays in processing and review
• An inability to attest to the defensibility of the collection

FPMs mitigate these risks by ensuring that every step is documented, every stakeholder is informed, and every decision is made with the legal team’s end goals guiding their actions.

The Strategic Edge of Forensic Project Managers

While the FPM’s primary focus is on forensically sound data collection, their involvement continues throughout the lifecycle of a matter. They work in tandem with Client Services Project Managers (CSPMs) who oversee broader project logistics and client communications. Review Managers also manage the document review process to ensure that downstream processes, such as processing, hosting, and review, are informed by accurate and complete collected data.

This continuity is crucial. As new custodians are added and additional data sources are identified, FPMs and their teams make sure that collections remain consistent, defensible, and aligned with counsel’s evolving needs while establishing and maintaining the use of best practices.

Real-World Impact of Digital Forensics Services and Computer Forensics

Digital Forensics services providers support collections across a wide range of data types, including Microsoft 365 environments, mobile devices, and platforms like Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp. They do this by leveraging advanced computer forensics and digital forensics analysis techniques.

Beyond collections, forensic teams also support forensic analysis and data remediation projects. This allows clients to investigate user activity and manage sensitive data with precision, ensuring compliance with client policies and data remediation needs.

They also provide critical documentation, such as collection reports and quality control notes, that support the defensibility of data collections. This facilitates smooth handoffs to downstream teams, all as part of strategic digital forensics services.

Reduce Risk and Drive Litigation Success With Expert Digital Forensics

Hiring a provider with dedicated FPMs and digital forensics services is not just a best practice; it’s a strategic investment. The FPM ensures that your matter begins on solid footing and progresses efficiently towards your desired resolution while avoiding costly mistakes.

Their expertise in digital forensics investigation services, communication, and leadership is indispensable to meeting complex data challenges and achieving successful legal outcomes.

Learn more about Epiq Forensic and Collections Services.

Thomas Cawley, Senior Forensic Project Manager
Thomas Cawley, Senior Forensic Project Manager and Team Lead at Epiq, helps businesses and law firms navigate forensic challenges in litigation and investigations by scoping and guiding defensible forensic workflows, ensuring clear and coordinated communication. He manages the forensic phase of client projects and leads a team of six forensic project managers, drawing on nearly 20 years of experience and industry-recognized certifications, including EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE), CompTIA A+, and multiple Cellebrite credentials (CCO, UFED, and UFED Physical). Thomas earned his B.A. in Criminal Justice from Thomas Edison State University and an A.A. in Business Administration from Brookdale Community College.