4 Reasons Why eDiscovery For Your Small Law Firm Has Never Been Easier

21 October 2018 by Anith Mathai eDiscovery small-law-firm affordable

With the latest eDiscovery applications, (1) The software is highly cost-effective, (2) Your bills are predictable, (3) You can work from anywhere, (4) You don’t need an IT team to keep things going.

eDiscovery plays an increasingly important role in modern law.

But thankfully, this is a golden age of eDiscovery for small law firms. Here’s why…

eDiscovery software has never been so affordable.

eDiscovery software was first developed in the 2000s when eDiscovery wasn’t common and only large firms used them. So, eDiscovery providers focused on creating custom software for these larger firms. The thing is that nowadays, small- and medium-sized firms make up 75% of the market. And they can’t afford this custom software. Luckily, there’s hope. Newer technology makes it easier to design cost-effective software. So, the barrier to entry is lowered and there’s more competition. This drives down prices and gives small law firms more choices. And with experience, providers learn to create ready-to-use eDiscovery packages. Which are much cheaper than custom software tailored to a particular client.

Your bills are predictable, so it’s easy to budget for eDiscovery.

The two most common kinds of eDiscovery pricing are:

‘Fixed volume’ pricing: Storage space is divided into chunks (or ‘plans’)-e.g., 3 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB, etc. And their prices have been set in advance. So, you choose a plan you want and pay a fixed amount for it.
‘Per-GB’ (or, ‘pay as you go’) pricing: There aren’t any ‘plans.’ You pay a set rate for each GB of storage space you use.

Per-GB pricing may seem like the smarter (more transparent) bet. But it has drawbacks:

It’s easy to manipulate. Crafty eDiscovery providers charge low per-GB rates. But when it’s time to pay the bill, they’ll tack on extra costs. And charge piecemeal for essential features like tech support.
It’s hard to figure out how much you owe. If your case size keeps changing, what’s your bill going to be? Say you start with 3 GB of data. Then you delete 1 GB after a couple of weeks. Do you pay for the largest size your case got to-3 GB? Or its average size-2.5 GB?

So, what’s a better option? Well, it’s ‘fixed-volume’ pricing but with a per-GB rate as reference. The cool thing about a per-GB rate is that it’s easy to compare the prices different eDiscovery providers are offering. And the cool thing about fixed-volume pricing (with set case plans – e.g., 3 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB) is that it’s simple and predictable. So, why not combine the two? Well, the best eDiscovery providers do just this. Check out an example of simple, fixed-volume pricing, with a per-GB rate as reference.

You can work from anywhere. All you need is a computer and an internet connection.

Need to work from outside the office? For example, when you’re snowed in at home or stuck at the airport? Thankfully this is possible with cloud-hosting. Software giants like Amazon and Google lease storage to businesses all over the world. And their thousands of interconnected servers formed a ‘Cloud.’ The Cloud has been around for a while, now. In fact, if you use Dropbox, Google Drive, or any Apple product, then you’re already in the Cloud. And Cloud computing lead to SaaS (Software as a Service). Here, instead of downloading and installing eDiscovery software, you simply access it over the internet. The software runs in the Cloud and is looked after by your eDiscovery provider. Your data is stored in the Cloud too. So you can work from anywhere. All you need is a computer and an internet connection! Learn more about cloud computing.

eDiscovery software is so easy to use! You don’t need any special training or a dedicated IT team.

Sign up in minutes: Just go to your provider’s website, choose your plan, and sign up in minutes. (See an example)
Use it like email. Go to the website, sign in with your username and password, and you’re good to go. It’s like checking email. And you won’t need to download anything.
Move files around like in Windows. To upload files, just drag-and-drop them into your internet browser.
Search like you do with Google. Type in keywords into the application’s search bar. And you’ll get all the files and emails with your keywords. Learn more about searching.
Share ‘productions’ from within the software, instead of downloading and mailing/emailing them. It’s safe, cost-effective, and easier to track. Learn more about sharing productions.

Looking for affordable eDiscovery software? Try GoldFynch.

It’s a next-generation eDiscovery application that prioritizes things that matter to small law firms.

Pay just $27 per month for a basic 3 GB case. That’s far less-every month-than the nearest comparable software. And hundreds of dollars cheaper than many others. GoldFynch’s pricing is transparent and readily available on the website.
It’s a flat, prorated rate. So it’s simple to budget for it. With legacy software, the billing is complicated and opaque, and your bill changes depending on how much data you use.
Got a small case that might become a large one later? GoldFynch scales from small to large. So, choose from a range of case sizes (3 GB to 150 GB, and more) and don’t waste money on space you don’t need. Plus, you don’t need to pay to ‘unlock’ premium features. You’ll have the full power of GoldFynch even with a starter case.
It takes just minutes to get going. It runs in the Cloud, so you use it through your web browser (Google Chrome recommended). No installation. No sales calls or emails. Plus, you get a free, fully-functional trial case (0.5 GB of data and processing cap of 1 GB), without adding a credit card.
You get the best technical support. It’s designed, developed and run by the same team. So, the technical support isn’t outsourced. Which means prompt and reliable service.

Want to find out more?

For more about eDiscovery for small law firms, check out these articles:

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