Top 12 Technology Terms Every Boutique Law Firm Should Know
In today’s litigation landscape, data drives decisions and knowing the language of eDiscovery is essential to staying ahead. Boutique law firms often manage cases as complex as those handled by larger competitors, and with Page One’s expertise and the power of RelativityOne, they can do so confidently and efficiently.
These terms provide a foundation for understanding how technology, process, and defensibility intersect. From forensic collection to AI-assisted review, each concept represents a critical step in transforming raw data into meaningful insight. With Page One as your litigation support partner, you gain both the tools and the trusted experience needed to navigate every phase of discovery—securely, defensibly, and strategically.
Forensic Collection – The process of capturing data from devices, email systems, or cloud sources in a defensible, verifiable manner that preserves metadata and prevents alteration. Conducting a forensic collection ensures evidence integrity and chain of custody. When performed by a certified forensic examiner, the professional can also testify in court regarding the methods used and the authenticity of the evidence, providing credibility and defensibility to the matter.
Processing – The stage where raw collected data (emails, PDFs, spreadsheets, etc.) is converted into a searchable format within an eDiscovery platform (i.e. RelativityOne), allowing reviewers to analyze metadata and text content.
Deduplication – The process of identifying and removing duplicate documents across custodians or data sets.
Early Case Assessment (ECA) – The initial analysis of collected data to evaluate case strategy, scope, and potential cost before full review begins. Helps determine what data is relevant and what can be excluded early.
Metadata – The digital “fingerprints” of a document (such as creation date, author, and modification history). Preserving metadata is critical for authenticity and defensibility in litigation.
Data Culling – The process of filtering large datasets using date ranges, custodians, search terms, or file types to reduce the amount of information that needs to be reviewed.
Relational Data / Families – Refers to document groupings such as an email and its attachments; managing them together helps maintain context and completeness.
Email Threading – A feature that identifies and organizes emails by conversation, showing only the most complete versions and reducing redundant review of earlier duplicates.
aiR for Review – Relativity’s integrated generative AI solution that accelerates document review by summarizing, classifying, and prioritizing documents using context-based intelligence. It helps small teams handle big cases efficiently.
Review Center – An AI-driven workflow where the system learns from reviewer decisions to rank and prioritize documents, improving review speed and consistency.
Production – The final step of eDiscovery where documents are delivered to opposing counsel or regulators in a specified format, typically including Bates numbering, load files, images, natives and metadata.
RelativityOne – A secure, cloud-based eDiscovery platform that allows law firms to manage the entire lifecycle of a matter—from data ingestion and processing to document review and production—all in one place. Its scalability and built-in AI capabilities make it ideal for firms without in-house infrastructure.
Page One and RelativityOne
Page One partners with boutique law firms to deliver enterprise-grade eDiscovery power through RelativityOne, the industry’s most secure and scalable cloud platform. By combining RelativityOne’s advanced analytics, automation, and AI tools with Page One’s expert project managers and Relativity Certified Administrators, Experts and Masters, small firms gain the same capabilities as Big Law, without the overhead. From forensic collections to AI-assisted review and production, Page One acts as your full-service litigation support partner, helping attorneys focus on advocacy while we handle the technology, workflows, and deadlines behind the scenes.
