Tag Archives: review
Outsourcing Managed Document Review
Managed document review can aid you in your discovery process prior to a trial. As opposed to the discovery process after a trial, of course. Discovery is a critical part of any legal case, but in large corporate or class action cases, discovery can be extremely involved. If Bill Gates or Warren Buffet happen to be your client, cost isn’t an issue, but most of us aren’t fortunate enough to represent individuals with bottomless pockets. Inevitably the question arises, should you cut cost on discovery and allocate more resources to trying cases.
Cutting costs on discovery seems stupid, at least superficially. A single key piece of evidence can be the difference in a trial. Overlooking that piece of evidence can be catastrophic.
One problem in huge cases is that there are so many documents to assay that it is impossible to do if the client is billed at standard attorney rates.
Enter the managed document review process. You farm the task of reviewing documents to a third party source which bills at much lower rates. You specify parameters telling them exactly what they are looking for and what can be ignored. They separate the wheat from the chafe, leaving a much smaller pool of documents for you or your legal staff to review.
Managed document review is not infallible. If you are worried about extremely sensitive disclosures which may be highly damaging to a client, letting third parties examine documents is unwise. Smart reviewers must be used, but the smart the reviewers, the higher the cost.
For specialized subjects like science or accounting, cheap managed review is sometimes not possible. This is because only highly paid experts can even understand the documents. There is a duality in this situation. As even a lawyer can’t understand such documents, managed review by experts must be used.
There are document review companies in nations like India, where highly educated individuals accept low wages Americans never would. This can be a good option, but if be aware that if documents have not been scanned, then they must be shipped, which can be risky. Transferring documents electronically is far preferable.
More and more, converting documents to computerized files is preferred. High speed scanners rapidly convert documents into computer files, and then OCR is run. OCR stands for optical character recognition software, and it converts scanned images into readable text. Documents must still be read, but searches of documents using keywords is still very helpful.
Some lawyers view managed document review as a profit drain, and figure it is better to just have staff review documents and bill the client. A markup can be charged for the service. Also, the client doesn’t have to be told the task was farmed out, and can be unwittingly billed at standard legal prices.
Outsourcing Managed Document Review
Managed document review can aid you in your discovery process prior to a trial. As opposed to the discovery process after a trial, of course. Discovery is a critical part of any legal case, but in large corporate or class action cases, discovery can be extremely involved. If Bill Gates or Warren Buffet happen to be your client, cost isn’t an issue, but most of us aren’t fortunate enough to represent individuals with bottomless pockets. Inevitably the question arises, should you cut cost on discovery and allocate more resources to trying cases.
Cutting costs on discovery seems stupid, at least superficially. A single key piece of evidence can be the difference in a trial. Overlooking that piece of evidence can be catastrophic.
One problem in huge cases is that there are so many documents to assay that it is impossible to do if the client is billed at standard attorney rates.
Enter the managed document review process. You farm the task of reviewing documents to a third party source which bills at much lower rates. You specify parameters telling them exactly what they are looking for and what can be ignored. They separate the wheat from the chafe, leaving a much smaller pool of documents for you or your legal staff to review.
Managed document review is not infallible. If you are worried about extremely sensitive disclosures which may be highly damaging to a client, letting third parties examine documents is unwise. Smart reviewers must be used, but the smart the reviewers, the higher the cost.
For specialized subjects like science or accounting, cheap managed review is sometimes not possible. This is because only highly paid experts can even understand the documents. There is a duality in this situation. As even a lawyer can’t understand such documents, managed review by experts must be used.
There are document review companies in nations like India, where highly educated individuals accept low wages Americans never would. This can be a good option, but if be aware that if documents have not been scanned, then they must be shipped, which can be risky. Transferring documents electronically is far preferable.
More and more, converting documents to computerized files is preferred. High speed scanners rapidly convert documents into computer files, and then OCR is run. OCR stands for optical character recognition software, and it converts scanned images into readable text. Documents must still be read, but searches of documents using keywords is still very helpful.
Some lawyers view managed document review as a profit drain, and figure it is better to just have staff review documents and bill the client. A markup can be charged for the service. Also, the client doesn’t have to be told the task was farmed out, and can be unwittingly billed at standard legal prices.
The Fundamentals of Managed Document Review
Finding a compatible and efficient managed document review firm can be a daunting task. Managed document review is a complex system of tracking and security, the ability to quickly and efficiently find them, track changes to documents, and give specific people or firms access to those documents. Security is a large part of managed document review, especially in controlling who can see a document and make changes to it.
The Various Kinds of Managed Document Review
As many law firms are moving to electronic documents, legal documents range in type from electronic communication to paper contracts. Different firms serve different needs, and all kinds of documents can be included in a managed document review, from simple divorce papers served to litigated case files and research.
Fees for a Managed Document Review
Different law firms have different needs, so fees associated with managed document reviews will vary. While US law firms often charge between $25 and $55 per hour, international, outsourced firms will often charge a flat fee for services, or a fee per document reviewed.
How to Choose a Managed Document Review Firm
When choosing a managed document review firm, most companies are searching for good, solid security first and foremost. As each law firm requires different specialties from their particular document management groups, there are particular things to consider when choosing the best firm for you. Security is usually critical for companies needing secure documentation, with different security requirements for a range of documentation requests.
External security often involves locked file cabinets and notarized documents outlining access for those working on the documents. External security is the lockdown of documents that should not be shared. These documents should be placed carefully, with specific, written instructions for who can view and change them.
For documents that need to be tracked and managed internally, internal security is actually much more difficult to manage. Many law firms are e-filing documents, making them susceptible to cyber attack and viruses. The ability to track changes to documents long-term, deciding who can have access to documents, and who can make changes are all challenges of internal security for a managed document review.
The ability to quickly understand where a document is, who has accessed it, and who has changed it is critical to the success of the firm. Thus, traceability of documents is another key feature of a solid document management review organization.
Document searching is also important for success with a managed document review. The ability to quickly and accurately search for a document or even a phrase in a document is essential to any cases that require large volumes of documents to be used.
A professional managed document review company can help particular law firms decide how to manage the security of their documents, how to give or deny access, how to track changes, and how to appropriately manage their security funds. With the advent of e-documents, many firms are finding success in outsourcing their managed document review firms to places like India.