Why Small Firms Can't Afford Big eDiscovery Tools (And What They Use Instead)
Last updated November 2025
When people hear “eDiscovery,” they think of massive corporate litigation and forensic tools that cost thousands per seat. What most don’t realize is that these tools were never built for family law or small firms — and the price is only one part of the issue.
Here’s why smaller practices avoid big eDiscovery platforms, and what they rely on instead.
1. Enterprise eDiscovery Tools Are Designed for Big Lawsuits
Platforms like Relativity, Everlaw, and Logikcull are exceptional — but they’re designed for:
- corporate litigation
- large data sets (email archives, servers, databases)
- teams of analysts
- formal discovery requests
None of this reflects the typical workflow of a family law attorney managing screenshots from Messages or WhatsApp.
2. The Cost Is Out of Reach for Small Practices
Enterprise pricing often includes:
- $300–$900/month per user license
- data hosting fees — sometimes $20–$40/GB
- upload fees or per-matter charges
- export fees for PDF and exhibit bundles
For small firms or solo lawyers, this is simply not viable.
3. Family Law Evidence Is Completely Different
Family law is informal, fast-moving, and emotionally messy. Attorneys deal with:
- screenshots
- text messages
- photos
- emails from schools or doctors
- voice memos
No giant corporate eDiscovery platform was ever designed for this format.
4. The Result: Small Firms Use Patchwork Workflows
Because enterprise tools don’t fit, small firms patch together their own “eDiscovery lite” system using:
- Google Drive folders
- paralegal sorting
- Word/Google Docs timelines
- manual renaming
- PDF merging tools
The process works — but it’s slow, expensive, and inconsistent across clients.
5. Why Automation Tools Are Filling the Gap
Small firms are now turning to simple, affordable automation tools that actually fit their workflow:
- automatic screenshot organization
- text extraction and summarization
- chronology building
- export to PDF/CSV/ZIP
These tools don’t replace legal judgment — they replace the endless hours spent formatting evidence.
6. What Attorneys Really Want
In conversations with small firms, the most common themes are:
- “We just need something simple.”
- “We don’t need enterprise features.”
- “We don’t have time to manually sort screenshots.”
- “We need affordable tools our clients can use too.”
A tool built specifically for family law evidence solves 90% of their workflow pain without enterprise pricing.
7. Final Thoughts
Big eDiscovery tools will always dominate corporate litigation — but the family law world needs something smaller, faster, and far more affordable. CaseBuilder fills that need, giving attorneys and clients a streamlined way to turn chaotic screenshots into clean, court-ready packets.