Law Firms | Contract Staffing | Direct Hire Search | Case Studies | Document Review
CONTRACT STAFFING
Law Firm Client Reduces Cost of Electronic Document Review By 72%
Experienced contract attorneys in three states, combined with deft project management, keep this project focused on best practices and high productivity. The result is lower costs.
SITUATION
The client of a large national law firm needs a large volume of electronic documents reviewed, and the firm contacts Lumen Legal. Office space constraints at the firm make the project a natural fit for the use of home-based attorneys to conduct the review. Significant previous document review experience is necessary to help shape and guide the review process. High speed Internet connectivity is a must for all team members due to the software chosen for the project.
SOLUTION
Lumen Legal defines the scope of work and develops the project plan, including project tasks, assessment of the volume of documents to be reviewed and the skill set and experience level required, and identification of Team Leads. Lumen then determines the optimum geographic locations for the contract attorneys for project management purposes, fully developing the recipe for cost containment.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Senior Team Lead and two supporting Team Leads report to a National Project Manager, who ensures:
• Consistent and accurate communication of information
among all team members throughout the country
• File assignment and tracking for each reviewer
• Issue identification and resolution practices
• Consistent review standards
• Coordinated launch and completion
• A post-completion review to document best practices for
future document reviews
A key project management task: setting up and coordinating numerous orientation sessions between the software provider, the Lumen reviewers, and the law firm. Lumen executes standardized performance measures and operating standards, and rolls out an effective quality assurance process. Individual performance, as well as team performance, is tracked, measured, and analyzed. Quality Control meetings and project status meetings are held daily with the Team Leads and client, with an evolving list of best practices continuously circulated to all team members to ensure consistency and efficiency.
RESULT
The initial review is successfully completed on time, and the client is very satisfied. The project is initially expected to last two weeks, but the law firm and client request additional documents and a second phase extending the project to 90 days. In addition to meeting their deadline, the law firm’s client realizes a 72% cost savings using contract legal professionals.
Who: Midsized law firm
What: Needed a real estate transactions attorney experienced with
construction and lending issues
Challenge: Accomplish current heavy workload without commitment to
additional permanent staff
Solution: Multiple candidates were identified by Lumen Legal, and an
attorney with 10 years of commercial real estate experience was
chosen. The $75 hourly rate was billed to the client at $150/hour
(pursuant to ABA Ethics Opinion 00-420). During the first year, 1,600 billable hours yielded a profit of $120,000 for the firm.
DIRECT HIRE SEARCH
Who: Prestigious 20-attorney firm
What: Needed an associate attorney who had to be a proven performer
with impeccable background.
Challenge: Firm couldn’t match the pay scale of larger firms, and
months of searching had proven unsuccessful.
Solution: Lumen Legal identified the unique and highly desirable
culture of the firm and, using Lumen’s robust database, spread the
word about the firm’s cordial, energizing work environment and
reputation for outstanding client relations. Within weeks, multiple
large-firm candidates were interviewed and an exceptional attorney
took a cut in pay to take the position.
DOCUMENT REVIEW
Who: 165-attorney law firm
What: A David vs. Goliath corporate law suit with “bet the company”
implications
Challenge: The law firm’s client brought suit against a company ten
times its size. A large team was needed to complete the discovery tasks in six
months.
Solution: An average of 25 attorneys and paralegals worked at both the law firm and the client’s place of business, under the supervision of the law firm’s attorneys. Post-case cost review showed that this collaborative solution between law firm and corporation saved the client at least $875,000, via the services of Lumen Legal.
