Remote Document Review

[Anonymous]

Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

Are your kids home with you? I think this is my biggest issue. How will I get it all done and be available to my kids should they have school related questions and still be productive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

Are your kids home with you? I think this is my biggest issue. How will I get it all done and be available to my kids should they have school related questions and still be productive.

My kids are home with me. If they have questions or need help, they ask and I answer/help. It's no different from chatting with a co-worker in the break room. No one really thinks you're at your desk the whole time being productive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

Are your kids home with you? I think this is my biggest issue. How will I get it all done and be available to my kids should they have school related questions and still be productive.

My kids are home with me. If they have questions or need help, they ask and I answer/help. It's no different from chatting with a co-worker in the break room. No one really thinks you're at your desk the whole time being productive.

Thanks! I don’t want to drive you nuts with questions, but I am wondering if you have just started this work remotely or have you always done it remotely? Did they teach you the software or did you go in knowing it? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I’m an attorney who often supervises and selects doc reviewers. OP - your hours, ability to work remotely, etc. will vary from agency to agency and from case to case. You will not find the answers you are looking for polling this forum. My advice to you is to submit your resume to a few agencies and see what assignments they offer you. I wouldn’t make too many demands to start, except remote work if that is the deal killer for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

Are your kids home with you? I think this is my biggest issue. How will I get it all done and be available to my kids should they have school related questions and still be productive.

My kids are home with me. If they have questions or need help, they ask and I answer/help. It's no different from chatting with a co-worker in the break room. No one really thinks you're at your desk the whole time being productive.

Thanks! I don’t want to drive you nuts with questions, but I am wondering if you have just started this work remotely or have you always done it remotely? Did they teach you the software or did you go in knowing it? Thank you!

DP - the software is easy. You will get it within an hour if you have some familiarity with technology. Fake it til you make it with this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

Are your kids home with you? I think this is my biggest issue. How will I get it all done and be available to my kids should they have school related questions and still be productive.

My kids are home with me. If they have questions or need help, they ask and I answer/help. It's no different from chatting with a co-worker in the break room. No one really thinks you're at your desk the whole time being productive.

/
Thanks! I don’t want to drive you nuts with questions, but I am wondering if you have just started this work remotely or have you always done it remotely? Did they teach you the software or did you go in knowing it? Thank you!

DP - the software is easy. You will get it within an hour if you have some familiarity with technology. Fake it til you make it with this one.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an attorney who often supervises and selects doc reviewers. OP - your hours, ability to work remotely, etc. will vary from agency to agency and from case to case. You will not find the answers you are looking for polling this forum. My advice to you is to submit your resume to a few agencies and see what assignments they offer you. I wouldn’t make too many demands to start, except remote work if that is the deal killer for you.

Np, are you doing phone or video interviews at this time? I’m considering this route in September depending on Covid-19. Please share any all tips you are able to give. TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know how to use Relativity?

This is what I think matters. They will want you to be at ease with the review platform, not having to learn on the job, and relativity is the most common platform right now.

I am a litigation manager and part of my job is hiring companies to set up doc reviews. You absolutely need to have experience with Relativity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

OP - this really varies. I work from an agency and hire companies to help us with these reviews. We run reports pretty regularly that track docs/hours. We also track overturns. We remove people from the doc review team if they fail to meet metrics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know how to use Relativity?

This is what I think matters. They will want you to be at ease with the review platform, not having to learn on the job, and relativity is the most common platform right now.

I am a litigation manager and part of my job is hiring companies to set up doc reviews. You absolutely need to have experience with Relativity.

Eh, for someone with the right skills who can use a computer, reviewer-level access to Relativity is not that hard to learn at the outset of a review. You have to know how to check out a batch, open the document list, click the coding layout buttons, and save/next. Hardly rocket science and someone who spent five minutes on Relativity's training portal could figure it out. We also write into our contracts that we don't pay for software training time or the contract attorney company's technical issues/onboarding overhead, though, so I don't really care as long as they can review efficiently by the time the K atty is actually on the clock. I mean, I have to train our associates to do this all the time, and the majority of them are up and running in 10 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at a firm that hires a lot of people to do our doc review and now it is being done remotely. These jobs are competitive and we tend to use attorneys who have worked for us in the past and who know how to use Relativity. Also, they typically have to work business hours so please don’t think of this as the type of job you can do in off times. Further, many of these projects aren’t lengthy because of how developed AI has become.

Thanks. Not looking to work in off times as this would be the only job I work. I’m also not looking to be monitored like I was years ago when I worked Customer Service. If I need a break that goes over 15 mins I don’t want to have someone down my throat.

I’m sure they will be very interested to hear your list of demands.

Okay. Thanks for nothing.

It wasn't necessarily a polite way of saying it, but PP is right. Contract reviewers are a dime a dozen, and most of the major players aren't going to be terribly interested in negotiating with you. They have databases of attorneys they can call for jobs, and they probably have ones they call first because they're known quantities. They're not desperate for un/under-employed JDs, so they've got the leverage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently working remotely on a document review project. I've been doing it for ages because, as a single mom, it allows me some flexibility. With the right agency, you can make a decent living. Once you figure out Relativity (the most popular software), you'll be fine. It's sometimes very boring but cases can range from easy to complex subject matters. I like the variety.
Nobody cares about the monitoring software. I have my camera blocked off so good luck tracking my movement. You are free to take your breaks as long as you're not billing the client for your trip to the supermarket.

OP - this really varies. I work from an agency and hire companies to help us with these reviews. We run reports pretty regularly that track docs/hours. We also track overturns. We remove people from the doc review team if they fail to meet metrics.

This sounds like a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an attorney who often supervises and selects doc reviewers. OP - your hours, ability to work remotely, etc. will vary from agency to agency and from case to case. You will not find the answers you are looking for polling this forum. My advice to you is to submit your resume to a few agencies and see what assignments they offer you. I wouldn’t make too many demands to start, except remote work if that is the deal killer for you.

Np, are you doing phone or video interviews at this time? I’m considering this route in September depending on Covid-19. Please share any all tips you are able to give. TIA

I’m actually on the client side so I don’t do interviews myself. The agencies interview and screen candidates and then pass me resumes, which I approve or reject. There’s always demand, though, so I’m sure that candidate interviews are happening continuously.

Apply to a bunch of agencies and be flexible on assignments. If you reject too many assignments, the agencies will simply stop using you. This is a high burnout job - hours can be very long and not particularly flexible, there is little autonomy, and the review itself is mostly mind-numbingly boring. But the pay is decent and for the right kind of person, it can be a good job. I know a couple who works doc review for 6 months and takes the rest of the year off sailing in the Keys. If you treat it as a means to an end and not a career, it can be fine.

[Anonymous]

I’m an auditor, not a lawyer. But we have asked for scanned documents and review remotely.