Contract Attorneys

Document Review Attorney Takes On Deloitte

Another document review David challenging an industry Goliath.

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Well, well, well. It looks like we have another document review David taking on an industry Goliath to the tune of $384 million (Canadian).

Last week, Canadian document review attorney, Shireen Sondhi filed suit against corporate behemoth Deloitte, which acquired ATD Legal Services in 2014, alleging document review attorneys were improperly classified as independent contractors (thereby exempt from protection under the Employment Standards Act). With that acquisition Deloitte became a major ediscovery player in Canada, a point the lawsuit makes emphatically.

“For many young lawyers, saddled with staggering student debt and desperate not to leave the field of law, document review is a last resort,” the statement of claim reads. “Deloitte is one of only a few document review companies in Ontario, and for many Class Members, represents their sole source of income.”

Sing it sister. Even in major US markets most of the opportunities get concentrated into a handful of vendors. If they like you, that’s great. You get moved from project to project and get to cobble together the semblance of stability. If not? Well, let’s hope you’ve finished making all the payments on your car.

Unsurprisingly for those following the Second Circuit cases for document reviewers’ OT, this class action will, in part, revolve around whether the rote task of reviewing documents is properly classified as a legal service. The Canadian Lawyer has the skinny on the current Canadian issues.

While the Law Society of Upper Canada has yet to take a firm position on whether or not document review constitutes legal services — a hotly disputed issue that underpins the lawsuit — the plaintiff argues the work she did for ATD could not be considered legal work.

As a result, Sondhi claims she and her colleagues were for years denied statutory labour protections, such as notice of termination. They were also deprived of entitlements such as vacation pay and overtime — with even bathroom breaks docked from their overall compensation.

Dude. They can’t even pee on the clock— I mean not physically peeing on top of a clock, but using the bathroom while technically on their employers payroll– ugh, you get what I mean. That’s rough.

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This isn’t the first time that Sondhi has publicly tussled with Deloitte over the classification of document review work. In fact, this lawsuit is much more of a culmination of events that began last year when Sondhi first began to make noise over the changes that Deloitte instituted after they took over ATD. And it doesn’t look like it ended too well for Sondhi.

Sondhi and a number of her colleagues objected to the new terms, which she claims resulted in her termination without notice via e-mail.

‘I was shocked that Deloitte went as far as terminating me for vocalizing opposition to the Procom contract,” said Sondhi in a statement. “The entire situation reinforced to me just how great the power disparity was between Deloitte and I.”

Me? I’m not shocked. Vendors, law firms and staffing agencies are all playing for keeps when it comes to the classification of document review work. Their business model just doesn’t assume calling document review non-legal work, because, when you consider overtime and other benefits, that could cost them millions.

Alex Rich is a T14 grad and Biglaw refugee who has worked as a contract attorney for the last 7 years… and counting. If you have a story about the underbelly of the legal world known as contract work, email Alex at alexrichesq@gmail.com and be sure to follow Alex on Twitter @AlexRichEsq

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