Document Review

Term from Legal Consultancy industry explained for recruiters

Document Review is a crucial process in the legal industry where professionals carefully examine legal documents, contracts, and other materials to identify relevant information, potential issues, or specific details needed for a case or transaction. This task is often performed by lawyers, paralegals, or specialized document review attorneys. It's similar to quality control in other industries, but specifically for legal paperwork. While traditionally done with physical papers, modern document review often uses special software to help organize and search through large amounts of electronic documents more efficiently.

Examples in Resumes

Managed Document Review teams for major corporate litigation cases, reviewing over 100,000 pages monthly

Led Document Review projects using advanced e-discovery tools for international merger cases

Conducted Doc Review and Document Review for compliance investigations and regulatory audits

Typical job title: "Document Review Attorneys"

Also try searching for:

Document Review Attorney Review Attorney Contract Review Specialist E-Discovery Attorney Legal Document Reviewer Document Review Specialist Contract Analyst

Example Interview Questions

Senior Level Questions

Q: How would you design a document review workflow for a large corporate merger?

Expected Answer: A senior reviewer should discuss project planning, team organization, creating review protocols, quality control measures, and managing deadlines. They should mention experience with different review platforms and strategies for efficient document categorization.

Q: How do you ensure quality control in a large document review project?

Expected Answer: Should explain setting up multiple review layers, sampling methods, consistency checks, regular team meetings for issue discussion, and tracking systems to monitor accuracy and productivity.

Mid Level Questions

Q: What strategies do you use to maintain accuracy during long review sessions?

Expected Answer: Should discuss taking regular breaks, using checklists, implementing personal quality checks, and maintaining detailed notes about review criteria and special instructions.

Q: How do you handle privileged documents during review?

Expected Answer: Should explain identifying attorney-client privilege, marking procedures, creating privilege logs, and understanding different types of legal privileges and confidentiality requirements.

Junior Level Questions

Q: What are the key things you look for when reviewing a document?

Expected Answer: Should mention checking dates, parties involved, key terms, signatures, and any unusual or concerning language, while following the project's specific review protocol.

Q: How do you organize your findings during document review?

Expected Answer: Should describe basic document tagging, note-taking methods, following coding protocols, and proper use of review software for categorizing documents.

Experience Level Indicators

Junior (0-2 years)

  • Basic document review and analysis
  • Understanding of legal terminology
  • Familiarity with review software
  • Attention to detail

Mid (2-5 years)

  • Advanced document analysis
  • Team coordination
  • Quality control processes
  • Multiple platform expertise

Senior (5+ years)

  • Project management
  • Training and supervision
  • Complex review strategy development
  • Client communication

Red Flags to Watch For

  • No experience with document review software platforms
  • Poor attention to detail
  • Lack of understanding of attorney-client privilege
  • Unable to meet tight deadlines
  • No knowledge of basic legal terminology