At Elemental Discovery, we prefer flat-fee rates combined with per-GB charges for larger data volumes when we work on typical ediscovery projects.

This makes costs for smaller projects predictable. For larger projects, where the data volume becomes the dominant cost, we can take first steps on the project at a fixed cost in order to come up with more precise GB estimates for clients to approve.

Typical projects require no additional hourly work. Additional hourly charges apply for situations such as custom reporting that requires backend development, developing support for custom data sources, and open-ended projects that are difficult to estimate up front. That said, we know hourly charges can sometimes be easier for end-clients to understand in the context of the overall costs in litigation, so we are happy to work with you on what makes sense for your matter.

We measure GB sizes post-expansion, including extracted files, database, and index sizes. However, we do not include top-level containers used to upload data. So for example if a ZIP containing a PST file is processed, we charge sizes based on the extracted MSG files and their attachments, but do not count the ZIP and PST file themselves.

(Also, to be formal about it, we use Gigabyte (GB) interchangeably with Gibibyte (GiB), which is 1024^3 bytes.)

Please send us an email if you would like:

• an outline of our standard rates,
• a specific estimate for a project, or
• a breakdown comparing costs to another vendor's estimate.

We'll be happy to help.