Meaning of Document Review

During the litigation process, it is important for professionals to collect any such  information which might help a case reach an optimum conclusion. Document review is the type of process where lawyers and paralegals decide as to which documents they shall submit to the court. Following an efficient, comprehensive review process can help you minimise risks, organise required evidence as well as prepare a credible case for your client. In the article below, document review shall be defined, describing the necessity of document review 

What does document review mean?

Document review is the stage of a legal case where the legal professionals read documents looking  for any information which they deem to be relevant for a case. Attorneys and paralegals conduct document review processes, but some law firms as well as businesses hire document review lawyers specialising in the same. Using tags during the process of document review, could  indicate if a document is confidential, privileged or a discovery request. 

Importance of document review

There are basically two purposes for reviewing a legal document. These are-

• Checking all necessary clauses before submitting the application to help save you from repercussions in the future.
• It is a legal obligation that a lawyer has to do for their clients. It falls under their duty to review the document and safeguard their client’s rights.

Benefits of Legal Document Review

A legal document review is one of a lawyer’s most vital services for their clients. Here are the benefits:

Cross-checking the Details

As the party involved, it is common to worry about legal proceedings. It is, thus necessary to appoint a professional who is experienced with the process of legal document review. 

Overlooking Clauses

When drafting a contract, agreement, or any other legal document, it could be possible to have  overlooked clauses. This act, therefore, makes the process of legal document review more critical. A lawyer would closely analyse and check the existing record for any such clause overlooked.

Making Necessary Changes

In case there are any errors or erroneous details, the lawyer would point them out for you.

Shall Ensure That All Necessary Details will Match the Policies Made by the Current Government

A Document is also required to be Reviewed so as to verify if it aligns with latest government norms. In case your agreement is against the government policies, it might have serious repercussions.

How is Legal Document Review Done ?

Simply reading the document would not suffice. Generally every lawyer would have his own set method of reviewing legal documents. The process could be generalised in the following steps-

Collect

The basic step would be to collect every related document as well as each document or evidence related. It would help manage the entire process in a better manner as well as provide a smooth process in court.

Examine

After all necessary documents, related papers, and proofs have been collected at one place, the lawyer would closely examine them if he or she has missed any.

Identify

Under this step the lawyer would find loopholes or any other missing clause. They would also keep in mind any negotiation which took place and therefore check the document as such.

Preserve

This step would help the lawyer to ensure that during the review, wrong or incorrect data is changed only while the correct details would remain unaffected.

Process

After identifying the points to be altered or removed altogether, the document shall be changed as required.

Review

After the above step has been completed, the entire process shall be repeated again. It would help ensure that no loophole or mistake has been ignored.

Why is an Expert Required for Legal Document Review?

Legal consultancy services are well-trained and have immense experience in dealing with documents on a daily basis. Unlike a common man, they are aware of the fact as to which place to exactly check for in order to analyse the document better. An experienced lawyer shall be  well-versed in the policies of the current government and norms which oversee your document. In case a document is not properly reviewed, you may get sued, fined or even punished for not following the regulations. Thus, rather than taking any chances, it is better that you seek assistance in legal consultancy and take required actions.

Lead India offers you a wide pool of experienced advocates who have been successfully dealing with civil as well as criminal matters. Hence, in order to draft for review legal document, you wish to ask a legal question or seek free legal advice online, you may contact us.