Litigation in Washington, D.C. tends to be document-heavy: federal and regulatory disputes, government investigations, antitrust matters, and IP cases before the agencies and courts based in the city. A matter in discovery can produce tens of thousands of documents to review, depositions to transcribe on a deadline, research questions nobody has the hours for, and a case file that has to stay current through trial. Outsourced litigation support takes that volume off the litigation team, so your associates and paralegals spend their time where their judgement is needed. It’s the same work set out under litigation support on our legal process outsourcing page.
What Litigation Support Covers
Litigation support isn’t one service. It’s the combination a matter needs at each stage:
- Document review. A first-pass review of collected documents against your review protocol, flagging documents as responsive, non-responsive or potentially privileged for your attorneys to decide.
- Deposition and hearing transcripts. Working transcripts of depositions, witness interviews and hearing audio, for preparation alongside the court reporter’s certified record. See legal transcription services.
- Legal research. Case law, statutes and citation checks as motions come up, written up for an attorney to act on. See legal research outsourcing.
- Case file and calendar support. A dedicated paralegal keeping the file, exhibit lists and deadline calendar current from filing through trial.
- Document production and formatting. Briefs, exhibits and filings formatted to the court’s rules through legal document and word processing.
Most firms start with one of these and add others as a matter grows.
Why D.C. Litigation Teams Outsource It
Discovery volume doesn’t match headcount. A production arrives, and a review that would take the team weeks needs to be done in days. Outsourced reviewers absorb the peak without a hiring decision, and the team returns to its normal size when the matter settles.
The time difference works in your favour. The Philippines is 12 to 13 hours ahead of Washington. Documents and recordings sent at the close of the D.C. day can be worked on overnight and be back before your team starts the next morning.
Billable time goes where it’s billed. First-pass review and transcription are hard to bill at associate rates and expensive to do at them. Moving them out leaves associates on the work clients expect to pay for.
Cost. Philippine delivery runs 40–60% below onshore staffing.
Where the Lines Are Drawn
Outsourced litigation support works under your attorneys’ supervision, and the boundaries matter:
- Your attorneys make the legal calls. Reviewers apply your protocol and flag documents. Privilege, responsiveness and production decisions are made by your attorneys.
- Certified transcripts come from the court reporter. Ours are working transcripts for preparation.
- No legal advice. The team isn’t made up of lawyers, and work product comes back to your litigators for review. Strategy, argument and filings stay with your attorneys.
Confidentiality on Litigation Matters
Discovery material is often subject to a protective order, and much of it is confidential to your client or the other side. Before choosing any provider, ask who can access the documents, where they are stored, and how access ends when the matter does.
At Magellan, every staff member signs a confidentiality agreement, enforceable under Philippine law, before assignment, and access is limited to the team working your account. Magellan operates under ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and GDPR compliance (see our certifications).
Questions D.C. Firms Ask
Can you work to our review protocol and platform? Yes. The team works to your protocol and coding conventions, in the review platform your firm or vendor already uses.
How quickly can a review team start? It depends on volume and the protocol’s complexity. Tell us the production size and the deadline, and we’ll plan the team around it.
Do you handle IP matters? Yes, on the support side: document review, transcripts and research for your IP litigators. Patent and trademark prosecution is legal work and stays with your attorneys and registered practitioners.
If your litigation team has a production, depositions or a research backlog waiting, the next step is a short conversation about volume, deadlines and how files will be exchanged. See legal process outsourcing for everything Magellan supports, or contact us directly.
