Many legal teams focus on pricing when reviewing an eDiscovery contract. But the bigger question isn't what the matter will cost today. It's what could change tomorrow.
An eDiscovery matter rarely unfolds exactly as expected.
A case that begins with a handful of custodians can grow to include dozens. Data volumes can increase. New communication platforms can enter scope. Additional reviewers may need access. Production requirements can evolve. Timelines can shift.
None of those developments are unusual.
The challenge is that every change has the potential to affect cost, workflow, timelines, or technology requirements.
That's why one of the most important parts of reviewing an eDiscovery contract is understanding which assumptions are fixed and which variables may change over the life of the matter.
Before signing an eDiscovery agreement, make sure you understand what happens when the matter becomes larger, more complex, or simply different than originally planned.
Discovery matters operate in an environment of uncertainty.
At the start of a matter, legal teams may have only a preliminary understanding of the relevant custodians, data sources, review volumes, and production requirements.
As investigations progress and facts emerge, that picture often changes.
A matter that begins with email and network-file collections may later expand to include:
None of these developments necessarily indicate poor planning.
They're often a normal part of the discovery process.
The question is not whether change will happen.
The question is whether your eDiscovery vendor contract clearly explains how those changes will be managed when they occur.
One of the most common mistakes legal teams make is focusing solely on a quoted processing or hosting rate.
A rate only tells part of the story.
The total cost of an eDiscovery project is often influenced by factors such as:
The more clearly you understand these variables before signing, the easier it becomes to forecast costs later.
For example, a matter estimated at 100 GB may look very different from one that ultimately grows to 500 GB or 1 TB.
Similarly, a matter supporting one or two users may have different requirements than a matter involving multiple attorneys, reviewers, experts, and stakeholders.
When reviewing an eDiscovery agreement, ask which assumptions are built into the proposed pricing model and what happens if those assumptions change.
Data growth is one of the most common reasons costs change during an engagement.
Before signing, ask questions such as:
Many legal teams focus on the cost of getting data into the platform. Fewer focus on what happens after that data remains hosted for months or years.
Productions can also affect hosting volumes. Depending on the workflow and how produced data is handled, the volume of data retained in the platform may increase, making it important to understand how production-related data affects ongoing hosting charges.
Understanding those terms upfront can help prevent billing surprises later.
Archiving is another cost that legal teams may overlook when planning an eDiscovery budget. While initial discussions often focus on collection, processing, and hosting, it's also important to understand the costs associated with closing out a matter.
When a case settles or concludes, legal teams may need to preserve data for future reference, move it to an archive, or export it from the platform. Depending on the agreement and the vendor's pricing model, these steps may involve additional fees.
Before signing, ask:
Understanding these costs upfront can help your team plan for the full lifecycle of a matter, not just its active discovery phase.
Access needs often evolve throughout a matter.
A workspace that initially supports one litigation team may eventually require access for:
Because many eDiscovery pricing models include user-related components, it's important to understand how additional users affect costs.
Ask:
User requirements may seem minor during procurement discussions, but they can become significant as matters grow.
Support requirements are another area where assumptions often change.
Some matters require minimal involvement after processing and hosting.
Others involve ongoing productions, urgent deadlines, multiple stakeholders, and frequent project-management support.
Before signing an eDiscovery vendor contract, determine:
A clear understanding of support expectations can help align pricing with the reality of how your team actually works.
Technology continues to reshape eDiscovery workflows.
Many legal teams now use analytics, technology-assisted review, Continuous Active Learning (CAL), and AI-enabled workflows to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort.
Before signing an eDiscovery agreement, understand how technology changes are handled.
Ask:
Technology can create meaningful efficiencies, but legal teams should understand how those capabilities fit within the broader commercial agreement.
Perhaps the single most important section of an eDiscovery contract is the language governing change.
Because change is inevitable.
A strong agreement provides a clear process for:
The goal isn't to prevent change.
It's to create predictability when change occurs.
Legal teams should understand who approves additional work, how pricing is determined, and what visibility they'll receive before new charges are incurred.
When evaluating an eDiscovery vendor contract, many organizations focus on lowering costs.
A better objective is often improving predictability.
After all, most legal departments can manage a reasonable expense.
What becomes difficult is managing unexpected expense.
The most successful discovery programs are typically built around:
In other words, predictability.
Knowing what drives spend often creates more value than simply securing the lowest quoted rate.
Before signing an eDiscovery contract, it can be helpful to model different project scenarios.
What happens if data volume increases?
What happens if additional users need access?
What happens if your support requirements change?
Understanding those variables early can help inform contract discussions and budget planning.
Array's eDiscovery Cost Calculator provides a quick way to explore how changes in data volume, user requirements, and support levels may affect projected costs.
Rather than focusing solely on a single quoted number, you can better understand some of the factors that commonly influence spend throughout the life of a matter.
An eDiscovery contract should do more than establish today's pricing.
It should help your team understand what happens when the matter changes.
Because it probably will.
Data volumes grow. New custodians appear. Deadlines shift. Additional users need access. Technology evolves.
The best eDiscovery agreements acknowledge that reality from the start.
Before signing, take the time to clarify the assumptions that drive pricing, identify the areas most likely to change, and understand how those changes will be managed.
A contract that supports predictable growth is often far more valuable than one that simply offers the lowest initial rate.