Is Your eDiscovery Software Subtly Diluting Your Law Firm's Brand?

14 July 2021 by Anith eDiscovery

Takeaway: Most firms are happy with their eDiscovery software just because it’s affordable. But cost-effectiveness alone isn’t enough if your software ends up ruining your brand. And it can do this by subtly directing attention away from you and toward your eDiscovery provider. Instead, try to find software that credits you for the value-added services you work hard to provide.

Everyone knows how big a game-changer eDiscovery is! It’s fast, saves space, and opens up a world of new ‘bonus’ information.

Electronically stored information (ESI) (emails, Excel sheets, PDFs, etc.) lies at the heart of all businesses today. And this electronic information needs ‘electronic’ discovery (eDiscovery). The good news is that eDiscovery comes with a host of advantages. For example, it’s fast – so fast that you’ll be able to find keywords and responsive information in seconds instead of days. Plus, all your data sits on a conveniently small computer server rather than on reams of paper stacked in rows of space-taking storage boxes. Also, you now have access to special bonus ‘metadata’ – the digital footprint tracking a document’s history. And this metadata can help you win cases in ways that traditional paper documents can’t.

But to do eDiscovery right, you’ll need to find reliable software.

New eDiscovery software can often be a pain to find and use. But without it, eDiscovery becomes near impossible. Say you’re reviewing your case, for example. Here’s what that would look like without specialized eDiscovery software. First, you’ll want to skim through your files to see what you’ve got. So, you’ll start opening documents using their parent applications. That means using Microsoft Word for Word documents, Adobe Reader for PDFs, and Outlook for emails. But you’ll have to keep switching between these applications as you cycle through your files. Even when you search for keywords, you’ll have to repeat the search with each application. And this switching back and forth will go on indefinitely as you start threading files together to build a defensible case. You can see why this isn’t sustainable, right?

With the right eDiscovery software, you’ll have one centralized location from which to run your entire case.

eDiscovery software gets rid of all the switching back and forth. You’ll use a single eDiscovery browser window to open all your files, and a single search bar to pull up responsive keywords. Plus, your software will give you an array of new tools to tag, redact, and produce your files.

Most firms are put off by expensive eDiscovery software, though. And this is quite justified.

Until very recently, eDiscovery has been too expensive for small and midsize firms. eDiscovery expert Craig Ball exposed this in 2009 when he issued his EDna challenge. He described a hypothetical attorney ‘Edna’ who needed an eDiscovery solution for under $1000. And he challenged vendors to provide this solution. Many of them took on the challenge but all fell short. Note that this was just over a decade ago. It’s no surprise that most small and midsize firms assume eDiscovery is something only larger firms (with their deep pockets) can afford. Even a budget well over $1000 can’t cover the hardware and software upgrades that go into setting up a custom eDiscovery system.

But the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model changed all this by cutting prices significantly.

Nowadays, you don’t have to buy new software. Instead, you’ll subscribe to an eDiscovery service. With this model, an eDiscovery provider runs their software in the Cloud (i.e., a global network of computer servers) and you’ll pay a monthly subscription fee to use it. So instead of investing a large upfront fee and managing expensive new hardware and software, you’ll simply sign into an eDiscovery service via your internet browser. This means you don’t commit to learning how to use complicated new software, troubleshooting technical issues, or sinking a large sum of money into software you might not still be using in a year’s time. Here’s more on how SaaS simplifies eDiscovery.

You need more from eDiscovery than just cost-effectiveness, though. Really, it needs to help you grow your brand.

Affordable eDiscovery means nothing if the software ends up sabotaging your brand. After all, if the focus is on the technology, then it’s your eDiscovery provider’s brand that gets the attention – not yours.

That’s where brand-neutral eDiscovery comes in. It reminds clients that you’re the one working the software and providing value-added services.

At GoldFynch, we know that eDiscovery is about more than just innovative technology. It’s about the relationships you build with your clients. That’s why we’ve designed our software to shift focus to your value-added services. So you’ll be able to do things like add your logo and colors to our software, set up a custom subdomain (‘yourcompany.goldfynch.com’), generate invoices with billback pricing, and more. These little touches remind your clients that even the best technology needs a motivated attorney to power it.

GoldFynch tackles brand management because it’s designed to solve the problems small and midsize law firms like yours have.

Smaller law firms have very clear priorities, and we’ve built GoldFynch to tackle these specifically.

It costs just $27 a month for a 3 GB case: That’s significantly less than most comparable software. With GoldFynch, you know what you’re paying for exactly – its pricing is simple and readily available on the website.
It’s easy to budget for. GoldFynch charges only for storage (processing is free). So, choose from a range of plans (3 GB to 150+ GB) and know up-front how much you’ll be paying. You can upload and cull as much data as you want, as long as you stay below your storage limit. And even if you do cross the limit, you can upgrade your plan with just a few clicks. Also, billing is prorated – so you’ll pay only for the time you spend on any given plan. With legacy software, pricing is much less predictable.
It takes only minutes to get going. GoldFynch 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 trial case (0.5 GB of data and a processing cap of 1 GB), without adding a credit card.
It’s simple to use. Many eDiscovery applications take hours to master. GoldFynch takes minutes. It handles a lot of complex processing in the background, but what you see is minimal and intuitive. Just drag-and-drop your files into GoldFynch, and you’re good to go. Plus, you get prompt and reliable tech support.
Access it from anywhere, and 24/7. All your files are backed up and secure in the Cloud.

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