What Is A Litigation Support Service?
Some lawsuits are straightforward, while others are more complex. When it comes to complex cases, lawyers may turn to a litigation support service to assist in a variety of tasks. This post aims to educate you on what litigation support services are, and the services that they provide.
Definition of a Litigation Support Service
As mentioned, litigation support services help lawyers that are handling complex cases. Together, a lawyer and their litigation support service will work to create the strongest possible case for a client.
Responsibilities that may be passed onto a litigation support service range from forensic accounting to objective testing to legal photography and whatever else the lawyer may need to win the case in question.
What Services Do Litigation Support Services Provide?
Litigation support services consist of a multi-disciplinary team with many specialties relevant to helping a lawyer. Below are the different facets of litigation support that work together to help present the strongest possible case:
eDiscovery
Litigation support services may help lawyers with eDiscovery during the discovery process of a case. For those unfamiliar, eDiscovery is the process of identifying, collecting, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in response to a case or investigation’s request for production.
Access to specific resources
Litigation support services usually have access to specialized programs designed for forensic accounting, data processing, management, and research needs. Lawyers can rely on these resources to present a more compelling and data-backed case.
Consulting
Consulting with a litigation support service can be either general or specific. General consulting helps with various facets of a case, such as the discovery or presentation phase. Specific consulting refers to the actual case itself. Since litigation support services have knowledge in many industries, this knowledge may prove valuable to winning a case.
Subpoena and citation services
Litigation support services can complete the paperwork for subpoenas and citations on behalf of a lawyer. They may also assist to locate relevant witnesses or parties that are difficult to find.
Record retrieval
Usually, record retrieval is a time-consuming process that lawyers reluctantly have to do themselves. For complex cases where time is limited, a litigation support service can handle record retrieval and similar tasks.
Trial presentation assistance
Once data and testimonies are gathered, another important step is to put everything together into a presentation. Litigation support services can work with lawyers to produce videography, photography, and trial boards to improve the case’s courtroom presentation.