subject: What Is Managed Document Review? [print this page] Document-intensive projects require multiple staff members to review, highlight, record and even file specific documents in order in order to use information from separate documents later. Typically attorneys, real estate agents and large corporations require managed document reviews, but rarely do they do this in-house. Managed document review services provide companies with the ability to have documents reviewed, categorized and even noted, but without the hassle of wasting in-house staff time to do it.
Cost Benefits
When many documents are involved, the cost to prepare them can be prohibitive. By some estimates, a full 70% of the amount spent in litigation is directly related to managed document review. This is due to the large time investment involved in reading each report, understanding every analysis, and scouring every court record for relevant information. Every detail that can impact the case must be entered in a database for later retrieval, which can take days or weeks depending on the size of the file. Utilizing in-house staff for this review stage takes them away from their primary areas of expertise. There is a cost in lost opportunity when personnel are focused on document review instead of the day-to-day tasks necessary for proper client care. Managed document review services devote 100% of their time to this aspect of the business, which means they develop experience, efficiencies, and expertise that gets the job done faster and more accurately. That equates to significant savings that take some pressure off of budgetary requirements.
Increased Efficiencies in Project Management
When document review is not the main focus of a business, it is less likely that effective procedures will be developed to ensure excellent results. Managed document review services are devoted to the task, so they create detailed protocols to ensure the job is done right, every time. Teams work together in a coordinated effort, which reduces time wasters such as duplicated labor. Supervisors keep the teams on track, available to address questions and concerns on the spot so they don't hold the project up.
After reviewing the documents, staff enters the information in a network or web-based application for convenient access. This can take an extraordinary amount of time, so choosing a document review company is the ideal way to free up in-house staff for more important responsibilities.
Expert Understanding of the Client's Industry
The best managed document review services have years of experience working with clients in the same industries over and over again. That means they are well aware of which details are important to the business, so they record all of the relevant information completely and correctly. Reviewers who don't specialize in processing documents have been known to discard material that is later critical to the client.
To be absolutely certain the work is done right, quality managed document review firms have several eyes scanning every single page. Usually one team takes and initial pass, then a second goes through everything again to be sure nothing was missed. Finally, a separate team will enter all of the information into the database, which dramatically reduces the possibility of errors. Clients can expect a complete review of their file with a supervisor so concerns can be addressed, before the project is considered complete.
