Hire an Esquire

Web-based software and freelance attorney service make local U.S barred attorneys the most cost effective e-discovery solution

Philadelphia, PA & Wilmington, Delaware, January 2012
The past decade hasn’t been kind to law. A progression of headlines describes the American lawyer turning from high-salaried hot shot to unemployed, debt-ridden, and downtrodden. Some accompanying stories are downright Dickensian, describing factory-like conditions and wages for attorneys performing electronic discovery. Still, electronic or "e-discovery"—often involving large teams of temporary attorneys reviewing millions of internal documents in corporate litigation—could break the budget of even Fortune 500 companies. Law firms and their clients wondered how costs could be contained; lawyers wondered how dignity could be restored to their profession.

A newly formed partnership between Digital Legal and Hire an Esquire, LLC will address both issues. The two companies will partner to provide a complete e-discovery solution that dramatically reduces costs while providing attorneys with better wages and improved working conditions.

"REMOTE-LOCAL": THE MOST ECONOMICAL E-DISCOVERY SOLUTION
Digital Legal’s web-based e-discovery review tools allow attorneys to work remotely from their own offices and computers. This reduces the facility costs of renting additional office space and computers for temporary attorneys. Hire an Esquire, the first online service for law firms to locate, manage, and pay freelance lawyers will allow Digital Legal and its clients to directly connect and transact with freelance attorneys for e-discovery. Bricks and mortar staffing agency inefficiencies will be eliminated— along with their 50-100% markup on attorney hours. With Hire an Esquire, law firms can locate local, US barred attorneys who can work remotely while still being available to meet on site with in house counsel, partners, and associates as necessary. With 400+ attorneys and firms registered nationally since its launch in 2011, Hire an Esquire has specialized in allowing firms to locate independent contractor attorneys for legal research and writing, court appearances, specialized expertise, and local counsel. With Digital Legal, a national provider of electronic discovery and litigation support services, Hire an Esquire enters the e-discovery market.

"In recent years, onshoring to low cost U.S. cities became more economical and convenient than outsourcing. Now local attorneys will trump onshoring in cost and convenience," says Hire an Esquire co-founder Julia Claire, Esq. "The local-remote solution also eliminates the expense and hassle of travel. East and West Coast based counsel frequently had to make trips to mid-Western onshore location. This solution makes life easier for firm attorneys and wages higher for project-based attorneys, all while firms support their local economy and clients see e-discovery costs cut in half."

FROM OUTSOURCING TO CROWDSOURCING
With Digital Legal’s newly designed IDS software, firms can track the progress of remote attorneys even more closely and accurately than if they were in the same room. Ezra Silverman, Director of Technology for Digital Legal, explains, "the IDS platform makes tracking your reviewers simple and accurate. With in-depth information you can see your overall review progress and individual reviewer productivity reports. The software even outlines attorney coding decisions that are out of line with other attorneys so that you can ensure you’re getting accurate results from your team."

Case review software has increasingly become web-based. Many firms already allow attorneys to review case documents off-site from their own computers. Thus, most review software is now designed to secure highly confidential information accordingly. Silverman notes that, "Digital Legal's web review platforms all feature secure login portals to protect all of the hosted data; the portals are secured using a variety of methods. Attorneys can be restricted to accessing data from specific physical locations, documents, and portions of the case."

The Digital Legal-Hire an Esquire partnership arose from firms and their clients increasingly exploring and requesting a local-remote solution and the related cost efficiencies. The newly announced partnership makes this solution simple to execute and manage.

ATTORNEYS GAIN AUTONOMY, REGAIN PROFESSIONALISM AS FIRMS CUT COSTS
Hire an Esquire was created to provide attorneys with better lifestyle options and better wages by electronically facilitating a direct relationship with law firms. Attorneys working on a freelance basis who contract directly with a firm as independent contractors can make 50-75% more than they can through a staffing agency for comparable work.

Hire an Esquire promotes a freelance law model that allows attorneys to choose the type and amount of work they take on and allows them to build their own diversified book of law firm business. Firms can then match attorney power to business cycles. With even storied law firms regularly downsizing or permanently closing their mahogany doors, few lawyers can depend upon a single firm. And few firms can afford to spurn the latest cost saving solutions and technology. The Digital Legal-Hire an Esquire partnership will allow freelance attorneys and firms to enjoy all the benefits of freelancing for e-discovery—including making "attorney factories" a relic of the turn of the century.

ABOUT HIRE AN ESQUIRE, LLC AND DIGITAL LEGAL
Hire an Esquire is the first online service to help law firms and legal departments locate, manage, and pay freelance lawyers nationally. Digital Legal is a national company that provides electronic discovery, litigation support, and document management services.

For more information please contact:
Hire an Esquire: Press (at) Hireanesquire (dot) com or Ed Carp of Digital Legal: Ecarp (at) digitallegal (dot) net