Build an eDiscovery process for the team you have.
Most eDiscovery “best practices” were written for BigLaw: review teams, six-figure technology budgets, deep-pocketed clients, and matters that run for years. They don't translate cleanly to a 10-attorney firm with two staff members and a rotating docket.
Spark builds eDiscovery processes for the ways small and mid-size practices actually work. That means making real choices — which platform fits your practice, which team members can be responsible for which aspects of discovery, which workflows work for collection, review, and production in your practice area(s) — rather than handing you a “comprehensive” playbook that gathers dust on a shared drive.
As an attorney, Sara Jones has handled eDiscovery from inside of BigLaw and small firms. She knows what enterprise playbooks miss, when the “best practice” isn’t proportional to your case, and conversely, which shortcuts aren’t worth it. That's the foundation for every Spark consulting engagement.
Let’s start here:
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Find the Right Technology for Your Practice
Every eDiscovery vendor will tell you they're the right fit. Spark's advice is different because while we do offer a platform option, our goal is to figure out what actually fits your practice, your budget, and the kinds of matters you take.
We evaluate platforms for user-friendliness; support and accessibility; cost; and scalability. Maybe you want the ability to set up and run your own productions, or maybe you want backup when it comes time to push the button. Maybe your clients only need the economy model. Maybe you’re shooting for bigger cases in the future. Maybe you’ve decided that AI can handle everything from here on! (Not yet.)
The result: a technology decision you made with the information you needed, with a trusted advisor who has her eye on innovation in the industry and experience working on practically every platform.
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Build Processes that are Both Defensible and Practical
Ad hoc eDiscovery isn't just inefficient — it's a liability. When opposing counsel asks how you collected documents, or a judge wants to know how your search terms were chosen, ‘we did what we usually do’ is not an answer that holds up.
Spark works with your firm to improve and document how you handle eDiscovery from intake to production: collection protocols, review workflows, search term development, quality control checkpoints, and privilege log standards. We look at where things have gone wrong for your firm in the past and design processes that address those failure points specifically.
You'll come away with the documents your team actually needs: ESI Protocol templates, review guides, and production checklists — built for your practice, not copied from a form bank.
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Train Your Team So They Don't Need Us Anymore
Spark wants to make itself obsolete — at least for the routine work. The goal of every consulting engagement is to leave your attorneys and staff confident enough to handle day-to-day eDiscovery without calling us every time a new case opens.
That means hands-on training on the platforms you've chosen, walkthroughs of the processes we've built together, and practice runs before your team faces a real deadline. Everyone who touches discovery — partners, associates, paralegals, legal assistants — should understand what they're responsible for and how to do it.
The novel issues and the genuinely unusual matters? Those are exactly what Spark is here for. We'll still pick up the phone.
Every firm is different, and Spark doesn't start with a template. We start with a conversation about what your practice looks like, what's worked, and what hasn't. From there we build something that fits.
Sara Jones is a litigator and Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) with 13+ years of experience across large and small litigation practices. She knows what enterprise processes miss — and what smaller firms need instead.