Pros and Cons of Managed Litigation Support Services Model

An increasing number of litigation teams are turning toward managed services as a way to handle the more complex facets of the litigation process. By choosing an experienced litigation support services provider, legal teams are able to focus on the core of the case, rather than spending time managing paperwork. However, as with most business tools, there are both pros and cons to the managed litigation support services model.

The Essence of Provider Services

When using managed services, the details of running your project will be turned over to your provider. This allows them to have both control and accountability over the results of that case. Since this is their full-time occupation, clients can rest assured that the project management will be as efficient as possible, saving countless work hours (and the expense of them) over attempting to keep track of the data themselves.

Litigation support is unique in that so many aspects of building a case are included by support service vendors. Most vendors will offer a range of options, from evidence collection and organization all the way up to computer forensics. Clients are able to pick and choose which services will best support the needs of any particular case, and the entire process is streamlined from start to finish.

Potential Pitfalls

Although a managed services model is extremely efficient and cost-effective, it is not a perfect system. In fact, the very thing that makes litigation support so helpful is the same thing that makes some clients nervous: it’s a lot of responsibility all in one place. Granting control over the project details to the vendor rather than maintaining internal tabs on progress requires a tremendous amount of trust. It’s vital to ensure that your service provider is capable, professional, and completely trustworthy before proceeding. Ending up with a litigation support team which is disorganized or overwhelmed by the workload you’ve offered can result in a huge waste of time and money, and may even cost you the case.

Even if your vendors are fully capable, this business model simply won’t work unless the client is willing to trust the vendor’s judgment completely, so managed litigation support services may not be ideal for anyone who is uncomfortable relinquishing control over their case.

Deciding What’s Right for You

Managed litigation support services, when used correctly, can be a tremendous benefit to any case. However, it does require a lot of trust between both parties, as well as excellent and ongoing communication. If you have the right attitude and are willing to let your vendor handle most of the fine points involved with your case, managed services could be the perfect solution for you.