Document review is the process of analyzing legal documents to find relevant information. It is how lawyers gain a complete understanding of the case and aid in developing their case. Document review can be acknowledged as the terminal phase before production.

All information given by the litigant under this will be visible to the opposing counsel. Document review aims to identify what information comes within the boundaries of ediscovery.

Let us see some points which throw light on the importance of document review in litigation and investigations. 

 1. Identify Underlying Case Information   

 Document review enables identifying the issues that have been overlooked or missed by other means and bringing them to the attention of necessary measures or cases. Moreover, it also provides detailed background or off-the-record information about a specific program or case study that is not readily apparent at first glance.  

 Anyone preparing to review documents must also go over the procedural pleadings, discovery demands, any applicable court orders, and any nondisclosure orders in the case. Anyone unfamiliar with the case can heavily benefit from reading these legal documents.   

 2. Assists in building Case Strategy   

 Apart from the background check, reviewers must clearly understand the legal team’s ultimate or desired goal. The facts can speak for themselves about the story/incident; however, the review will yield results that encourage a more combative and defensive approach or, conversely, a quicker settlement.   

 3. Improves Accuracy and Efficiency   

 Accuracy and thoroughness both are crucial. Document review enables lawyers/attorneys to collect accurate legal information, evidence, and database related to case studies more efficiently, thereby assisting lawyers/attorneys in preparing for court trials effectively. A good document review process manages the document database and produces relevant and accurate findings from prioritized data, all while putting the information together for future use.     

 4. Quality Control   

 A qualified document discovery service has several layers of quality control measures built into its document review process. Absolute quality control and due diligence are exercised at each stage of the review process to ensure consistency and accuracy of document designation.   

One benefit of legal document review is that it tags documents for “further review,” which is useful when coding is unclear. The document review process imposes quality control constraints such as automatically detecting duplicate documents or grouping families of documents such as threaded emails and file attachments for easy reference.    

 5. Saves Time and Resources   

 In multiple ways, document review is an essential aspect of eDiscovery. However, it is often the most expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive aspect of a case. Many legal process management companies offer document review services to assist with document review and cost management in a two-step process. Suppose the document review process is properly delegated to a team of experts. In that case, it can help lawyers/law firms save time and effort, allowing them to focus on other legal activities and offloading their workload.   

 6. Privileged Documents   

 The document review process entails the examination of privileged documents and work product materials. It is advantageous to identify law firms/or attorneys involved in the legal matter in advance to inform the reviewer of potential privilege issues. 

 But it is crucial to use privileged documents with caution. During court trials, opposing counsel and the courts frequently call out parties for overprivileged documents and nondisclosure identifications.   

7.Keeping up with the compliance policies 

An automated document management system can help enforce a company’s compliance document review policy effectively. Managing document information is critical to meeting compliance obligations that require service standards and documents to be accurate. Document review, therefore, is the ongoing part of those efforts. An ediscovery & document review system can do so without inefficiency.   

The document review process is crucial. A well-executed review process can make or break a client’s case. Any error or omission can majorly impact the case, expose litigants to negative ramifications, or even result in penalties. As a result, it is critical to delegate eDiscovery tasks to a well-intentioned team of experts capable of completing each task efficiently and without jeopardizing the case.    

Besides, the document review process can be the most expensive stage of eDiscovery. To counter that, law firms and corporate legal departments can take the help of external legal process management services to control high costs and increase efficiency. Such service providers can guide them through document review and discovery while ensuring high-quality results.