Insights Articles

Summary: Document review is the process of examining case-related information to identify relevant, responsive, privileged, and important documents. Managed document review adds dedicated staffing, workflow management, quality control, reporting, and technology support to help legal teams handle document review efficiently and defensibly. 

For legal teams, document review is the process of examining case-related materials such as emails, contracts, messages, spreadsheets, and other electronically stored information (ESI) to determine relevance, responsiveness, privilege, and key issues. 

Managed document review is an outsourced approach to document review in which a specialized litigation support provider manages the people, processes, technology, and quality controls needed to execute the work. Legal teams may use managed document review when data volumes are high, deadlines are compressed, internal resources are limited, or a matter requires a scalable and defensible workflow.

Understanding the difference between document review and managed document review can help litigation counsel, legal operations teams, and review managers determine what level of support makes sense for a particular matter. 

What Is Document Review?

Document review is a core part of litigation and other legal matters involving large volumes of electronically stored information. During legal document review, reviewers examine collected data and apply case-specific criteria to determine what information is relevant, responsive, privileged, or otherwise significant to the matter. 

Depending on the case, document review may involve: 

• Identifying responsive documents 
• Applying privilege and confidentiality designations 
• Identifying key issues, people, events, and communications 
• Reviewing documents for relevance and responsiveness 
• Identifying potentially sensitive information
• Preparing information for production
• Conducting quality control and validation

Document review can be performed by an internal legal team, contract lawyers, a law firm’s review team, or an external litigation support provider. 

The right approach depends on factors such as the volume and complexity of the data, the timeline, available staffing, budget, technology environment, and level of oversight required. 

What Is Managed Document Review?

Managed document review is a structured approach to document review in which an external provider takes responsibility for managing the operational execution of the review.

Rather than simply adding temporary reviewers, a managed document review team can oversee the workflow from planning and staffing through quality control, reporting, and completion.

Depending on the needs of the matter, managed document review may include: 

• Project scoping and workflow design
• Reviewer staffing and onboarding 
• Review protocol development 
• Reviewer training and calibration 
• Technology and review platform management 
• Ongoing supervision 
• Quality control and sampling 
• Escalation management
• Reporting and performance tracking
• Budget and resource management

The distinction is important: document review describes the work being performed, while managed document review describes an operational model for organizing and overseeing that work. 

How Are Document Review and Managed Document Review Related? 

Document review and managed document review are not competing concepts. 

Document review is the underlying legal workflow. Managed document review is one way to organize and execute that workflow.

For example, a law firm handling a smaller matter may have lawyers or internal reviewers conduct document review directly. A larger matter involving hundreds of thousands or millions of documents may require dedicated staffing, specialized workflows, technology, quality control, and reporting.

In that situation, managed document review can provide the infrastructure needed to execute document review at scale while allowing lawyers to maintain oversight of substantive legal decisions.

For legal teams evaluating their options, the question is not simply whether document review is needed. It is how the document review should be staffed, managed, monitored, and supported. 

What Does Managed Document Review Include?

A managed document review program can be tailored to the needs of the matter, but common components include workflow planning, reviewer staffing, training, technology management, quality control, reporting, and escalation. 

Staffing and Reviewer Management

Document review staffing needs can change quickly. A regulatory inquiry, investigation, class action, or large commercial litigation matter may require a significant review team on a compressed timeline. 

Managed document review providers can recruit and deploy qualified reviewers based on the needs of the matter, while managing onboarding, training, scheduling, performance, and workload.

This gives legal teams a way to scale document review without requiring lawyers or legal operations teams to manage reviewer logistics themselves. 

Review Workflow and Protocols

Effective document review starts with a clear workflow. 

Before review begins, teams may need to establish coding criteria, privilege instructions, escalation procedures, quality standards, and reporting requirements. These decisions help create consistency across the review team. 

A managed document review team can help operationalize those requirements and adjust the workflow as the matter evolves. 

Quality Control

Quality control is a critical part of defensible document review. 

Depending on the matter, quality control may include reviewer calibration, statistical sampling, second-level review, targeted quality checks, exception monitoring, and ongoing performance analysis. 

Centralized oversight can also help identify inconsistencies or recurring issues early, before they create larger review problems or require significant rework. 

Reporting and Oversight

Legal teams need visibility into how document review is progressing. 

Reporting can provide insight into reviewer productivity, document volumes, coding trends, quality metrics, staffing needs, and progress against deadlines. 

This information can help review managers and legal teams make decisions about resources and workflow while the review is underway rather than after it is complete. 

How Does Technology Support Document Review?

Technology plays an increasingly important role in document review, particularly as legal teams handle larger and more complex data sets.

eDiscovery platforms, analytics, technology-assisted review, generative AI, and other tools can help legal teams prioritize information, identify patterns, organize data, and support review decisions.

But technology alone does not create an effective document review workflow. Legal teams still need appropriate protocols, quality controls, human oversight, and clear escalation paths.

This is where Array Review Intelligence can support the broader document review process.

Review Intelligence combines workflow planning, technology, analytics, staffing, quality control, reporting, and oversight to help legal teams make informed decisions throughout document review.

The goal is not simply to review documents faster. It is to create a better workflow around the review so teams can maintain control, improve consistency, and make decisions with greater visibility. 

Why Do Legal Teams Use Managed Document Review?

The right document review model depends on the matter, but managed document review can be useful when legal teams need additional capacity, specialized oversight, or a scalable workflow. 

Cost Control and Predictability

Document review can represent a significant portion of the cost of a litigation matter. Reviewer rates, lawyer oversight, technology, project management, and rework can all affect the final budget. 

A managed document review provider can help legal teams establish a staffing model and workflow that align with the scope and budget of the matter. 

Scalability 

Document volumes and review requirements can change quickly.  

Managed document review gives legal teams access to established reviewer resources and operational support that can scale as the matter changes. This can be particularly useful for litigation, investigations, regulatory matters, and other situations where review requirements are difficult to predict at the outset. 

Quality and Consistency

Large document review projects require consistent application of review criteria. 

Structured training, reviewer calibration, quality control, sampling, escalation procedures, and ongoing reporting can help identify inconsistencies and address issues before they affect a larger portion of the review. 

Lawyer and Legal Operations Capacity

Document review requires significant coordination. Someone needs to monitor staffing, answer reviewer questions, track progress, manage escalations, monitor quality, and report on performance. 

For legal teams already managing active matters, shifting these operational responsibilities to a managed document review provider can free internal resources to focus on legal strategy, case analysis, and client needs. 

When Should a Legal Team Consider Outsourcing Document Review?

There is no single threshold that determines when document review should be outsourced. The decision depends on the needs of the matter and the resources available internally. 

Outsourcing document review may make sense when: 

• Data volumes exceed internal capacity
• Deadlines require rapid staffing 
• Internal lawyers or legal operations teams do not have bandwidth to manage the review 
• A matter requires specialized quality control
• Review staffing needs are expected to change
• The legal team needs greater visibility into review progress and costs
• Multiple matters require document review support at the same time 

For smaller or straightforward matters, an internal document review workflow may be sufficient.

The important consideration is whether the selected approach gives the legal team the staffing, technology, oversight, and quality controls necessary for the matter. 

How AI and Review Intelligence Are Changing Document Review 

AI is changing how legal teams approach document review, but AI should be viewed as part of a broader workflow rather than a replacement for legal judgment. 

Depending on the matter, AI-supported workflows can help teams identify potentially relevant information, prioritize documents, surface patterns, and support review decisions.

Review Intelligence extends that approach beyond individual AI capabilities by considering the broader document review workflow, including planning, staffing, quality control, reporting, and oversight.

For a deeper look at how AI can support legal document review, see Is AI Document Review Defensible? What Legal Teams Should Know Before Using AI in Review.

How Does Document Review Fit Into the Broader eDiscovery Process?

Document review is one stage of a broader eDiscovery workflow. Depending on the matter, legal teams may also need to address information governance, identification, preservation, collection, processing, analytics, review, production, and reporting. 

The way those stages connect can have a direct impact on the document review process. 

For example, thoughtful data processing and early analytics can help reduce unnecessary review volume. A well-planned production workflow can help prevent avoidable rework later in the matter.

Legal teams evaluating providers may therefore want to consider more than document review staffing alone. An experienced eDiscovery provider can help coordinate the broader workflow and reduce unnecessary handoffs between teams. 

Document Review FAQs

How much does document review cost?

Document review costs vary based on factors such as data volume, document complexity, review criteria, staffing requirements, technology, deadlines, and the type of review being performed. 

Pricing may be structured in different ways depending on the matter and provider. Legal teams should consider both the direct cost of reviewers and the operational costs associated with staffing, supervision, quality control, technology, and rework.

See our eDiscovery cost calculators for the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom to learn more. 

How is document review staffed?

Document review may be performed by internal lawyers, contract lawyers, specialized reviewers, or a combination of teams. 

Managed document review adds centralized staffing and workflow management. Depending on the matter, a provider may recruit reviewers, manage onboarding and training, monitor performance, and adjust staffing as review requirements change.

How does quality control work in document review?

Document review quality control can include reviewer training and calibration, statistical sampling, second-level review, targeted quality checks, exception management, and ongoing performance monitoring. 

The appropriate quality control approach depends on the matter, review criteria, risk profile, and defensibility requirements.

How are privileged documents handled during document review?

Privilege review requires clear criteria, appropriate reviewer training, quality controls, and escalation procedures. 

Legal teams may establish specific privilege instructions and escalation paths so that potentially privileged or ambiguous documents receive the appropriate level of review. The workflow should also include appropriate quality control and reporting to support defensibility.  

What happens when a document review issue needs escalation?

Not every document can be resolved through a standard coding protocol. Reviewers may encounter ambiguous documents, new fact patterns, potential privilege issues, or questions that require lawyer input. 

An effective document review workflow should establish clear escalation procedures so reviewers know when and how to elevate those questions. Managed document review teams can help track escalations, identify recurring issues, and communicate trends to the appropriate legal team members. 

When should a legal team outsource document review?

Legal teams may consider outsourcing document review when the volume or complexity of a matter exceeds internal capacity, deadlines require rapid scaling, specialized quality control is needed, or internal teams do not have the resources to manage the operational demands of the review. 

Outsourcing is not necessarily the right approach for every matter. The decision should consider the matter's scope, timeline, budget, staffing requirements, technology environment, and oversight needs. 

What is the difference between document review and managed document review?

Document review is the work of examining and categorizing case-related information based on criteria such as relevance, responsiveness, privilege, and key issues. 

Managed document review is an operational model for delivering that work with dedicated staffing, workflow management, technology support, quality control, reporting, and oversight.

In other words, document review is the activity; managed document review is a way of organizing and managing the activity. 

Make Document Review More Manageable

Document review remains a critical part of litigation and other legal matters involving significant amounts of electronically stored information. The challenge for legal teams is not simply completing the review. It is building a workflow that can handle the volume, meet deadlines, maintain quality, and provide appropriate oversight.

Managed document review can give legal teams the staffing and operational infrastructure to scale document review while keeping attorneys focused on substantive legal work.

With Array Review Intelligence, legal teams can also take a broader approach to document review by connecting workflow planning, technology, quality control, staffing, reporting, and oversight.

Explore Managed Document Review through Array Review Intelligence for a more efficient, defensible document review workflow.