Sometimes you have to make the best of what you have. Like e-discovery providers, some firms are training up their internal staff to fill e-discovery talent gaps created by a tight job market. And that means tapping paralegals to help support e-discovery projects, or even to become the next generation of e-discovery professionals themselves.

Of course, bringing paralegals into the e-discovery fold isn’t entirely new, though it is becoming increasingly common in light of a limited talent pool and a growing deluge of client discovery work. Yet even with more firms seeing e-discovery potential in their paralegals, it’s still far from a widespread practice—or something that many firms proactively support, whether by encouraging or paying for training.