Last week, I co-hosted a webinar called “How to Turn eDiscovery Cost into eDiscovery Profit,” all about how to bring your eDiscovery into your Litigation Support department and create a profit center for your law firm. It’s a topic I’m passionate about because I’ve done it (successfully) before. And I know the impact it can have, not just on the bottom line, but on how Litigation Support is perceived within the firm.
In this blog series, we will expand on key takeaways from the webinar and the eBook I wrote on the subject, delving deeper into the strategies and mindset shifts necessary to make eDiscovery a revenue-generating function. In this first post, we’ll start where every strong initiative begins: by auditing your current eDiscovery reality. Because before you can build a profitable Litigation Support department, you need a clear-eyed view of what your firm is actually doing today.
Step One: Audit Your eDiscovery Reality
Take a close look across all your practice areas and identify where eDiscovery is being handled, how, and by whom. Is it done internally? Outsourced? Passed along to clients entirely? Are attorneys cobbling together ad-hoc solutions with no consistency or tracking? Are there metrics in place? Probably not.
Start mapping:
- What types of eDiscovery projects your firm is handling (and who’s doing the work)
- What tools, vendors, or platforms are being used
- Where matters are being outsourced when they could be handled in-house
- Where internal resources are overbuilt for small cases but underpowered for larger ones
From there, look for patterns. You might uncover lost revenue opportunities where matters were sent out the door when they didn’t need to be. Or you may find gaps that a more structured in-house solution could fill.
Litigator Insights
On the webinar, Ray provided a number of great points from his perspective as a Litigator. One important point he made was more of a reality check for Litigation Support-minded folks like myself. He said simply, “Most Litigators just want to litigate.” Adding that their focus is (and should be) on case strategy, depositions, motions, and trials. And frankly, most of them don’t want to know how data is being processed or reviewed. That means any in-house eDiscovery program has to be positioned as a value-add to their practice, not a distraction.
Litigators want the best outcome for their client, and often the biggest lever to pull is cost. Because about 80% of litigation spend goes to discovery, any opportunity to bring that work in-house with more predictable pricing, better workflows, and team familiarity is a win for everyone.
Build Your Business Case with Metrics and Mindset
This is where the mindset shift begins, going from Litigation Support as an operational unit to a business unit with:
- Service tiers
- Cost recovery models
- Measurable profit goals
In this, Litigation Support is still providing its main function, and adding a breadth of services that create billable value and help retain revenue that might otherwise leave the firm. The trick is getting others to see it too.
After you change your own mindset, you need to get higher-level buy-in, and that starts with an internal champion. Ideally, this is a Partner or Litigator with a high volume of matters who sees the potential. You’ll need their support to make the case to firm leadership (more on this in part 2). Because here’s the truth: without this buy-in, you can’t make the revenue model happen.
Even the best internal programs can fail without firm-wide buy-in. You’ll need to do some internal marketing. Think about how to get in front of key practice groups, how to present your team’s capabilities, and how to make your department top of mind when a new matter comes in the door.
A few tips:
- Be a little sales-y. It’s OK. You’re selling value.
- Host demos or in-house “roadshows” to explain what you do.
- Present data on time/cost savings or internal successes.
- Bring in a trusted vendor partner to co-present (they can help with strategy and credibility).
Final Thoughts
Auditing your current state is a critical first step in building a truly profitable Litigation Support department. When structured correctly, this function will actively drive firm revenue.
In Part 2, we’ll dive into how to build a scalable, hybrid model that combines internal control with external power. Because once you know what you have, the next step is figuring out how to scale it. Let’s turn that cost center into a revenue engine.
