Everlaw was formed in 2010 and has been attracting attention with its software-as-a-service e-discovery platform after a series of awards and accolades, including being named ‘Vendor to Watch’ in Gartner’s May 2015 Magic Quadrant for E-discovery Software report.
Set up by chief executive AJ Shankar, the private startup is growing fast – as flagged up in the June Legal IT Insider’s people and places column – having hired five new employees in Q2.
Everlaw’s cloud-based solution offers scalability as well as flexibility and responsiveness – it often updates its software based on user requests, with new features currently launched as frequently as every month. As of July 2015, Everlaw has released or improved 15 features. That is partly thanks to its use of open-source tools for its application service, database, search engine and front-end framework. In a blog in April this year, Shankar said: “What that means is that we don’t reinvent the wheel each time we write a new feature. Just as attorneys start a contract with an existing template and then customize it for each client and situation, we use tools produced by the open-source community as starting points for the software we build for our users.”
One of Everlaw’s USPs is that it is simple and intuitive to use. Gartner, which identified ‘vendors to watch’ as missing one or more of the inclusion criteria but offering either “innovative technology or delivery models, or both”, said in its report: “Everlaw’s user interface and workflow are simpler for review users. Its embedded predictive coding engine is proprietary and does not require substantial user training and service support.”
The company is also marketing its end-to-end litigation capability: e-discovery features don’t end with document review but include post-review functions to help prepare the documents for litigation.
Everlaw in 2015 won several design and UX (user experience) awards for ease-of-use, including a Communicator Award for product design, a Creativity Award for user interface, and a Summit Award for product design.
Shankar, who prior to Everlaw co-founded apparel shopping website Modista, said: “I think we can be the platform that every litigator logs into every morning and says, ‘Well, what do I need to do today?’ and we’ll take care of all of that for you.”
Gartner estimates that the enterprise e-discovery software marketplace was $1.8 billion in total software revenue worldwide in 2014, an increase of 10.6% from 2013.
For recent e-discovery news read: More eDiscovery consolidation: Kooby-doo where are you? Bought by Inventus that’s where!
and: Ediscovery: the industry consolidation continues as HAYSTACKID “FLEX” their financial muscles
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