Legal Vendors
Some major elements of litigation are the work of reviewing evidence, researching the law, and going to court. But some other major elements are having a network of vendors and hiring the right ones to perform necessary tasks involved in litigating a case. In that regard, I have felt that being a litigator is like being a movie producer or a wedding planner: many clients may not know off-hand the many things they will need for a successful project or where to get them, and my job is to make sure everything gets done (and ideally in budget).
Why should you read this post about legal vendors?
You are a legal vendor and you are curious about how litigators find and choose you.
You want to know why litigation would be very expensive, even without attorney’s fees.
You want ideas for a business in an already-crowded field where your customers are type-A people in a panic.
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_delivery#/media/File:SF_Express_Taiwan_KPA-1063_20180126.jpg
E-Discovery Vendors
The first type of legal vendor that comes to mind for me are e-discovery vendors. These are companies that help lawyers store, review, and produce documents. While some lawyers try to do this work themselves, that may only be feasible when there are hundreds or thousands of pages. But many lawsuits involve the gathering and exchange of millions of pages or more of documents. And lawyers generally hire vendors to assist them with such large quantities.
An e-discovery vendor will often assist a lawyer with gathering the documents. It may send a technician to the client’s office to copy hard drives or download emails. Or it may consult with the client on how to export their documents. I do this part of the job myself, but many lawyers are not as comfortable with the details of computer files.
The principal work that e-discovery vendors do is store documents on a special platform that makes it easy easier to sort, identify, filter, and review a large number of documents. Popular e-discovery platforms that vendors may use include Relativity and Concordance. These services are usually very expensive and may cost thousands of dollars or month or more based on the number of documents stored with them. These vendors may also help with making document productions.
E-Discovery vendors may also help with reviewing documents. They may do this by employing a large number of contract attorneys who review documents and decide, for each, whether the document is responsive and if it is privileged. Using outsourced document review teams makes sense when there are a large number of documents and a litigator needs a temporary large team to review them. This becomes even more cost effective when an outside review team may offer services at hourly rates far below what an attorney charges. While a litigator may charge $700 per hour, a document reviewer in the United States may only charge $100 per hour and in India may charge $50. In my experience, document reviewers in India often do a better, more thorough job than the reviewers I have worked with (and been) in American firms. E-Discovery vendors may also provide software that automates document review through artificial intelligence.
Printers, Translators, and IT
Other legal vendors include companies that print documents in bulk. Many cases involve a large number of documents and some clients or judges may insist on printed copies of them instead of digital files. While a person could print hundreds of pages in an office, a vendor may help when a lawyer needs thousands of pages or more in a short amount of time.
In my work, I often represent clients from outside of the United States or that do business abroad. As a result, I regularly work with translators. Translators help translate documents so that I can use them in court or review them for my own understanding. And interpreters allow me to examine witnesses at depositions and trials by providing simultaneous translation as I and the witness speak. Often interpreters work in pairs since it is exhausting to provide live interpretation for more than 30-45 minutes.
Law firms regularly use vendors for IT services, too. Lawyers frequently send large files, or require extra security to protect sensitive documents, and use specialized software in their practice. IT vendors help with this.
Trial Services
Another major area where lawyers use vendors is during a trial. Many lawyers present demonstrative exhibits, which are like powerpoint slides that illustrate complicated concepts for a judge or jury. Some legal vendors help prepare these demonstratives so they look professional and clear.
Some lawyers before a jury trial use jury consultants or focus groups to get insight into how a real jury may consider the facts and what themes may be more persuasive than others. This is especially helpful for lawyers who may come from different social backgrounds from members of the jury. This is also helpful because some things that may seem irrelevant to a lawyer (such as where a witness works or lives) may have significant impact on their credibility to some jurors.
And many lawyers present trial exhibits on a screen instead of handing out paper copies to jurors or a judge. They may hire a “trial tech” person to essentially run the presentation of items on the screen during the trial so that the lawyer can focus on her presentation or examination.