Mark Lyon

Recently, I’ve helped several friends locate document review positions, with both my current company and agencies I’ve worked with in the past. Each time, I am reminded that everyone struggles with how best to list document review experience on their resume.

In general, I am a fan of simplicity and reducing clutter. Where possible, it seems reasonable to compress multiple projects into a single block with one description and timeframe, especially if the projects were close in time and for the same agency. Treat each employer/agency as a single job, even if they have overlapping timelines. If you’re applying to non-review jobs, this compressed format helps show the consistency of your employment history.

If your work history has a rather problematic timeline, consider creating a functional resume instead of a chronological one.  With this format, you can list your skills and experience separate and apart from the individual jobs you’ve held.

I generally advocate having a separate review-specific resume, including additional detail that is relevant to document review work but unnecessary on a less focused position.  Some important items that you might want to use in your description for a document review-specific resume:

• Area of Law
• Paper or Electronic Review
• Review Platform
• Type of review (responsiveness, privilege, significant issue coding, etc)
• Duration
• Quality Control or other similar work performed
• Any other feedback you received – were you ranked as a fast, accurate coder or invited back for second level work?
• If you did more than just code documents, point that out.

Skills that may be of particular interest to document review recruiters include foreign languages and computer or database skills. Be careful about getting in over your head, though. Just because you took an intro to Farsi course in college, you likely won’t be able to work efficiently in a review situation. Expect to have your language skills tested when you join a foreign language project.

If you’ve never used any document review platforms, consider going through some of the online tutorials offered for free on company websites. Having some basic understanding of what to expect could help when you start a new project. For example, Relativity, Concordance and iCONECT offer free online training options. Those without free online training, like Xerox Omnix, might offer sales or other promotional materials you can use to familiarize yourself with the tool.  Often, this information can be found in a “support” section of the company’s website. Don’t pass on a project because of inexperience with a specific platform, however. If you have any reasonable level of technical skills, you will likely be able to quickly master the platform with a small amount of training.

One important thing not to do, however, is identify clients and law firms as employers or in your description without explicit authorization. While it is perfectly acceptable to say you worked at Law Staffers for an AmLaw 50 firm working on an admiralty matter for an international beverage manufacturer, Listing Anonymous Law Firm LLP or Major Shipping Services, S.A. as your employer is inappropriate (you should, however, provide such information during conflict checks as necessary).

In a separate log, you should maintain a personal list of conflicts information. Here, you would want to track the start and end date, agency, case, client and opposing parties. When you’re asked to complete a conflicts form, this list will allow you to quickly (and accurately) provide the requested information. After a while, projects all seem to blend together. Remembering the name of a client from that weekend project last year gets difficult twelve projects down the road.

Finally, it’s important to get a second set of eyes to take a look at your resume.  Send it to a trusted friend or colleague in the exact same manner you will use for applications – for emailed copies you should always send as PDF unless another format is specifically requested.  If your word processor doesn’t save to PDF, look for a PDF printer like PDF995.  I like to personally save my file as Lyon, Mark – Resume.pdf.  Recruiters will often save many resumes in one large folder – making certain yours has a unique name will simplify things for them.

Resume image courtesy of Kafka4Prez.

While most attorneys represent a diverse set of clients, the unique nature of document review as a contract attorney creates significant conflict concerns. Temporary attorneys frequently work for multiple agencies and firms, moving from project to project. As a full-time associate in a firm, much of the effort involved in checking for conflicts will be carried out by the firm itself. Without that structure, it is important for each attorney to maintain their own records for conflict checking purposes.

Many agencies will, before confirming a temporary attorney for a new project, require that a conflicts form be completed. Often, these forms are completed quickly, relying only on memory, a recipe for missed details. On more than one occasion I’ve fielded a call or text from someone who worked on a project several years ago trying to identify the law firm or other details involved in a matter. Other times, attorneys will report for training day on a project – always a busy and hectic experience – only to be presented with a big packet of documents from the law firm or client. Invariably, one of the forms will ask for conflicts details.

While the potential for being excluded from a project is always a concern, ethical obligations require proper conflict checking and demand that attorneys step away from projects that would create an issue. This requirement has been reiterated by, among others, the California and DC Bars. Most staffing agencies and recruiters with whom I regularly deal have a great amount of respect for people who willingly notify them of potential conflicts. In the cases I’ve seen where the conflict prevented someone from getting work, that person ended up at the top of the recruiter’s list for the next project.

One easy way to simplify providing this information (while simultaneously demonstrating professionalism and preparation) is to maintain your own spreadsheet of conflicts information and update it when you start and finish each project. After spending far too much time in a training trying to recall some of the information requested in a project packet, I started to keep my own log.

For me, accessibility was a primary goal. Often, the first people to respond to a recruiter’s request for availability are the people selected for a project. That sometimes means responding from my phone, where a spreadsheet on my home computer won’t help. Personally, I use Google Docs for this purpose, since it is easily accessible when I’m away from my computer. Other services like Dropbox, Box and Microsoft Sky Drive can also provide easy access to your record.
To select the information I record in my spreadsheet, I consulted several conflict forms from various agencies on past projects. Now, when responding to their inquiries, I simply write “see attached” on their form and include a copy of my log.

My log includes columns for:

• Client
• Law Firm
• Opposing Parties
• Opposing Law Firm
• Caption / Jurisdiction (or internal investigation)
• Short description of case
• Outcome (review completed, terminated when work slowed, case settled)
• Major areas of law
• Start date
• End date
• Agency / Work Location
• Role (review, qc, qa, team lead)

I also have a few private columns for information about the project that I find personally helpful.

• The name and contact information for the project manager.
• The rate paid.
• Total hours worked (you can generally collect this information from the timekeeping system when making your final entry).
• A more detailed description of the project to help jog my memory if later asked about the matter.
• A “people” section where I note contact information and other details of new people I meet during the engagement. It’s easy to fall out of contact with people once a project ends. Once work slows, though, these contacts can often be a valuable resource for new projects.

Verify appropriate conflict information for each project with the agency or project management before leaving the matter. While most understand and appreciate the record you’re creating, I’m aware of at least one situation where the law firm tried to prevent several long-term contract attorneys from providing information about the project on conflict check forms, claiming same was prohibited by their confidentiality agreement. Ultimately, the issue with that client was resolved, but it would have been far better for everyone involved to have sorted out that issue while the project was ongoing instead of while attorneys were being considered for a new matter.

Remember, You may not be able to get online during training days. It’s always helpful to have a printed copy of this document with you when starting a new matter.

Mug image courtesy of Craig Moulding.