FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a customized environment to generate real time rating of the
legal service providers based on various parameters and factors more preferably, the
performance evaluation system providing real time basis rating of sellers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electronically stored information like e-mail records have transformed litigation and
consequently play an integral role in litigation matters. Electronic discovery is one of the most
important phases in the litigation process. Typically, law firms hire attorneys who provide the
services like reviewing legal documents and provide information about the case law for basic
practice issues.
The invention disclosed is a marketplace for buying and selling legal services such as
eDiscovery related services. Typically law firms or legal departments of corporations act as the
‘buyer’ in the legal services marketplace and the contract workers for example the contract
attorneys would act as the ‘sellers’. The marketplace is very similar to Freelancer.com or
upwork.com which connect buyers and sellers of services through an online SaaS platform. The
marketplace offers functionality to post legal projects such as eDiscovery jobs and ways to
manage the projects. The management of projects would typically involve monitoring real-time
progress of the projects, quality control, quality checks, payment and general project
management functions. The sellers would be allowed to view, bid for and accept the projects.
Once a certain bid is accepted, the seller would be allowed to enter the hours spent in executing
the project and receive payment. The novel feature which is not present in the existing services
marketplace is the ability to calculate ratings of both buyers and sellers. The buyers will be
allowed to enter the rating of the seller once the project is completed and vice versa. The
system would provide a provision for calculating an automated rating of the seller. The
automated rating system will collect information about the quality of service being provided by
the seller.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
The seller, generally a contract worker, is registered on the centralized database for contractual
work and the buyer, typically a law firm, seek contract worker on contractual basis for offering
legal services such as document review services in eDiscovery. Both the Buyer and Seller are
registered in the database. After background checks, a contract worker registers on the platform
using a plurality of IDs including but not limited to attorney’s bar ID, LinkedIn ID, personal or any
other affiliate ID. Subsequently a unique ID is generated for the worker that maps and tracks all
work done by the worker. There is an admin user who constantly manages the buyer-seller
relation. The work of the admin user is to ensure that the seller submits the task as per the time
allotted by the buyer and the buyer pays the money as per the agreement. The admin is
responsible for solving all disputes which may arise between the buyer and seller.
The technology introduced here enables a buyer to search and connect with the sellers. The
buyer may invite the sellers to projects and the sellers may submit proposals/bids for projects.
The buyer may seek clarifications from sellers and make an offer to any subset of the buyers
who submitted proposals for the project. The buyer may also want to interview sellers before
deciding to make an offer. Once an offer is accepted by a seller the seller may start the work.
The seller may raise invoice based on the amount of time spent on the project or may submit
invoices based on the milestones achieved. The platform may have provision for generating and
delivering invoices to the buyers.
The embodiments of the system consist of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that are viewable to
user who registers on the platform to obtain services and feature with which law firm can
interact with the buyer if the buyer that this person relevant to his project through message
board. The buyer can thus have a real-time communication session over the network with a
person associated with the corresponding expert profile. The buyer initially signs up for the
freelancing service by providing basic information such as first name, last name, law firm email
address, and password This basic information is then used to generate an account for him on
the platform.
A buyer registers on the platform to obtain a variety of services from registered sellers for
providing legal services such as the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting and producing
electronically stored information in response to a request for production in a law suit or
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investigation. This often includes identification of documents containing privileged
communication, protection of confidential or business sensitive information, and categorization
in accordance with predetermined issues or specified concepts. It includes but is not limited to,
emails, documents, presentations, databases, voicemail, audio and video files, social media,
web sites and data thereof.
The present invention also provides a way to quickly search and browse contract attorneys, who
are already registered with the system. There may be thousands of contract attorneys
registered in the system and their background check may or may not have been finished. The
system should be able to handle the huge amount of data generated. The contract attorneys
may have a specific experience in specific legal services such as e-discovery. When a user
enters a keyword search query via the terminal the search functionality compiles a set of search
results that match the keyword query. The search results are usually transmitted back to the
client computer for presentation through a browser application to the user in the form of an
ordered listing which may contain a subset of details or all the details of the attorney. The buyer
may further filter the sellers based on other parameters like subject matter expertise, language
skill, industry experience, familiarity with software, accuracy or speed. The sellers may be
further filtered based on their academic degrees. Every seller is provided a real time rating
based on their quality of work. In the present literature, there is no system which provides the
real-time rating of the sellers based on the basis of evaluation of their work.
The techniques described herein provide computer-based methods and apparatuses, including
computer program products, which can interact with standard search engines or other query
sources to enable searches for, and/or establish user communications with, an expert (e.g., a
person having knowledge in a particular category, subject or topic) over a computerized network
infrastructure.
Described are computer-based methods and apparatuses, including computer program
products, comprising the steps of, or structure for, storing a plurality of expert profiles in a
database, each of the plurality of expert profiles comprising information associated with a
person having knowledge in a particular category, subject or topic; receiving search criteria over
a network from a query source; selecting at least one of the plurality of expert profiles
comprising information that satisfy the search criteria; and transmitting expert profile data for
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each of the selected expert profiles to the remote search engine, the expert profile data
comprising data that defines a displayable representation of a corresponding expert’s profile .
Example embodiments involve a user interface operable to receive a user query comprising one
or more keywords that describe the domain/industry expertise based on which the buyer is
looking for the experts. This greatly simplifies the search and helps in identifying correct experts.
There are several parameters which need to be filled by the user say for example budget,
language skills, industry skills etc. The system may then identify experts with the most relevant
expertise through text mining. In turn, the user interface presents a list of the relevant experts
along with additional information of the expert. The buyer can engage the expert as per his/her
requirement.
The present invention provides a platform where a seller can analyze the data to cull or
segregate the clearly non-relevant documents and e-mails. The data is then hosted in a secure
environment and made accessible to reviewers who code the documents for their relevance to
the legal matter. For this phase of the document review many contract attorneys and paralegals
may be staffed on a project. Since the electronic documents are dynamic and often contain
metadata such as time-date stamps, author and recipient information, the present invention
preserves the original content and metadata for electronically stored information required in
order to eliminate claims of tampering with evidence in the litigation. The invention also has the
provision to convert documents to a static format such as TIFF or PDF. The use of computer
assisted review or Technology Assisted Review, predictive coding and other analytic software
for e-discovery further increases accuracy and allows the legal team to prioritize the documents.
The invention also includes features for collection, processing, computer-assisted review, email
threading etc to help sellers perform eDiscovery related tasks. The present invention may
automate these processes by providing a system and method platform to perform all the
necessary steps from the system.
Security and quality of work product are paramount concerns for delivery models, such as the
ones described herein. In some embodiments, the platform may use proprietary technologies
(e.g., algorithms, techniques for verifying contract attorneys) to measure and improve the
security of both platforms and/or the quality of deliverables created by contract attorneys. At the
completion of the project or of any milestone, the seller (through the platform) may have the
ability to rate seller based on the quality of work done.
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One of the features of the system generates real-time rating of sellers for example, contract
attorneys based on their quality of the review services provided in the project. The system may
also automatically compute a rating for contract attorney profiles. The automated rating
generated by the system can assist law firms in evaluating the contract attorneys.
Contract attorneys may be automatically rated by taking into account a plurality of parameters
including but not limited to:
? Accuracy of coding decision
? Speed of reviewing documents
? Amount of time spent in the project
? Instances of repeat business from past buyer
? Complexity of subject matter in the project
? Amount of re-work required in the project
? Subject matter expertise
? Academic Degree
? Number of projects
? Number of references listed on the platform
? Feedback received from past managers
Once the seller starts work on an eDiscovery project, the manager of the eDiscovery project can
monitor the real-time progress of the projects, perform quality control, perform quality checks,
make payments and other general project management functions using the system. The system
would provide a provision for calculating an automated rating of the seller while the project is
being executed using the system. The automated rating system will collect information about the
quality of service being provided by the seller. The ratings will measure the quality of service
provided by the seller on multiple parameters including, but not limited to, speed and accuracy.
The rating for the seller may be represented in the form of numerical figures or in the form of
graphical star rating and may be shown with the seller profile on the platform. The ratings may
be calculated on the fly or on pre-determined intervals like daily, weekly, monthly or a
combination thereof. In this way system keeps a record of the latest rating of the seller.
The present invention may consider the amount of time a seller spends on a project to calculate
ratings. For example if a seller spends more time on a project the quality of services provided by
the seller may have been good. The present invention may consider the type of subject matter
of a project for calculating ratings. Good performance of the seller on a relatively complex
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subject matter may have a higher impact on ratings rather than the performance on a relatively
easy subject matter.
The system as disclosed here also consider the number of times a seller gets repeat business
from a buyer, the sellers who get multiple projects from the same buyer may have provided a
higher quality of service. The system may provide a higher weightage for ratings on recent
projects compared to ratings on older projects. In some cases, alternative or supplemental
ratings can be determined in real-time based on buyer specified criteria taken alone or in
conjunction with previously generated ratings derived from above mentioned criteria.
From the above discussion it is clear that multiple parameters may be taken into account while
calculating the rating according to embodiments of the present invention. Although each such
method is described separately for clarity of explanation, person of skill in the art will recognize
that these methods may be used in various combinations with one another.
The ratings may be used for ranking the sellers for their suitability to execute a project. The
ratings for example, may be used in an online marketplace where the buyers may find and
interact with sellers to procure services.
The system may use a connection module to obtain information about the sellers and buyer
from existing databases like LinkedIn, Facebook, or others that have academics, professional or
personal information. The system may provide a unique reference number to identify profiles of
sellers and buyers.
In one embodiment, the connection module, database, module for calculating rating may reside
on servers or remote devices.
It will be understood from the above description that modifications and changes may be made in
various embodiments of the present invention without departing from its true spirit. The
descriptions in this specification are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed
in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the language of the
following claims.
It should be noted as well that certain embodiments may be implemented as a system or
method. Accordingly, aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an
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entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, et cetera) or
an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to
herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects may take the form of a
computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having
computer readable program code embodied therewith.
This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not
intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described to
explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to
understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to
the use contemplated.
It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as
circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but these are intended to cover the application
or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present
invention.
Accordingly, the description and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a
restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the
present invention. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any statement(s) that
may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to
be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Fig 1 illustrates a module which allows a buyer to search a seller. As shown the module
consists of a database 101 which contains plurality of profiles stored in a server. The
database 101 can act as a central source of data, including the profile information, for access by
servers within the search system. A buyer uses a user interface 103 on a user device (106)
registers on the platform to obtain a variety of services from registered sellers for procuring legal
services such as eDiscovery services. As shown 102 receives a search criteria from the buyer.
The sellers can be filtered based multiple parameters as input by the buyer. The buyer 103 who
registers on the platform can select a set of seller profiles 104. The data is transmitted 105 to be
displayed on the display device 106.
Fig 2 illustrates a computation module which 201 allows a buyer to rate the sellers. Based on
the performance on a project on the set of parameters listed in 201. The rating can be given on
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weekly/hourly/monthly/real-time basis. The figure illustrates one of the main features of the
invention. The computation module 202 generates real-time rating of sellers. This rating
generated by the system can assist buyers in evaluating the sellers. The computation module
202 will collect information about the quality of service being provided by the sellers. This rating
will be stored with the seller profile 203.
Fig 3 illustrates a search module. The system 302 assists buyers to engage sellers for providing
legal services. A buyer registers 301 on the platform to obtain a variety of services from
registered sellers 303. Buyers and sellers can discuss the project specifications through chat
session 304. Work on the project is started 305.
ABSTRACT
The present invention discloses a system and method for facilitating hiring decisions for legal
services. The system enables the consumers of legal services (the ‘buyers’)to engage providers
of for handling legal services (the ‘sellers’) such as eDiscovery, contract due diligence among
others. A buyer registers on the platform to purchase a legal services from registered legal
services provider. All the documents on the platform are encrypted such that only authorized
parties can view the documents. eDiscovery is the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting
and producing electronically stored information in response to a request for production in a law
suit or investigation. eDiscovery services include but are not limited to identification of
documents containing privileged communication, protection of confidential or business sensitive
information, and categorization of the documents in accordance with predetermined issues or
specified concepts. A buyer may opt for a seller that best meets the project requirements like
subject matter expertise, accuracy or speed. The sellers can be further filtered based on
academic credentials and average rating.
In modern eDiscovery processes collection, processing, computer-assisted review, email
threading, and production features assist the seller in their task. The system automates at least
some aspects of these processes by providing a system and method platform which enables the
seller to perform all the necessary steps in a more simplified manner. The system and method
of the present invention stores and provides rating of sellers calculated and generated on a real
time basis. The real-time rating is calculated considering various parameters and factors. The
parameters provide objective performance rating standard so that performance of seller can be
rated objectively. Moreover, the performance of the seller can be judged in light of the changes
in review guidelines, document requests, coding rules, and special instructions. This can
improve the objectivity and fairness of execution evaluations.

Claims:We claim:
1. A method for performance evaluation comprising:
providing profile information by a seller;
storing said profile in a database;
wherein the profile has a set of predefined parameters;
calculating parameter data for a subset of said set of predefined parameters;
storing the parameter data for predefined parameters in a repository.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising storing and collecting said
parameter data on a real-time basis.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising providing said parameter data on
real-time basis to a buyer.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parameter data for each parameter is
calculated based on a combination of automated and manually entered values.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said profile information is fetched from
existing database source.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said profile information is manually provided
by said seller.
7. A system for performance evaluation comprising:
a connection module for receiving profile information from a seller;
a data store for storing information associated with a seller profile;
a server for calculating and communicating a parameter data for a set of predefined
parameters;
and a repository for storing parameter data for predefined parameters.
8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein computation module calculates said
parameter data on real-time basis and stores the parameter data on a real-time basis.
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9. The system as claims in claim 7, where the said parameter data is provided to a buyer
on real-time basis.
10. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the computation module calculates
parameter data for each parameter based on a combination of automated and manually
entered values.
11. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the connection module fetches the profile
information from existing database source.
12. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the connection module fetches profile
information manually provided by said seller.