INTERIM LEGAL & COMPLIANCE · DOCUMENT REVIEW
Document review lawyers and review teams for law firms and companies
Alpinum Solutions, the leading provider of interim legal & compliance in the DACH region, provides document review lawyers, review leads and complete review teams to law firms, legal departments and compliance functions in Switzerland, Germany and Austria – for first-level, second-level and privilege review, due diligence, contract review and KYC files. The professionals work via staff leasing or freelancing, part-time or full-time. Direction and responsibility for the result stay with your law firm or company.
Document review is a service line of its own at Alpinum: we staff your review, from a single review lawyer to a team with a review lead. Alpinum does not offer managed review. Protocol, review standard, decisions and the result are owned by your law firm or company. If your focus is proceedings, eDiscovery and internal investigations as a practice area, start with litigation support lawyers; if a built-up backlog is the main issue, start with legal review and investigation support for backlogs.
Typical assignments for document review teams
Review in an eDiscovery project
A data set sits on the review platform and has to be coded for relevance, issues and confidentiality by a deadline. Review lawyers handle first level, experienced reviewers second level and privilege review, and a review lead coordinates. Duration: a few weeks to several months. Workload: mostly full-time, as a team.
Due diligence review in a transaction
The data room holds a large number of contracts to be checked against your checklist: change of control, termination rights, exclusivity, liability. Project lawyers record findings in the agreed format and your deal team assesses them. Duration: a few weeks. Workload: full-time, often with peaks before signing.
Contract review and contract remediation
A contract portfolio has to be aligned with new requirements, new standard clauses or a new contract management system. The team checks every contract against your grid, flags what needs action and prepares amendments. Duration: several months. Workload: part-time or full-time.
KYC and AML review team
Client files are reviewed against your checklist, gaps documented and cases prepared for sign-off. Compliance professionals work as a review team with a team lead who reports to your compliance function. Duration: several months. Workload: mostly full-time.
Mass claims
Many similar lawsuits or claims arrive. Review lawyers screen incoming matters, sort them into your categories, maintain the case overview and compile documents for the lead law firm. Duration: several months or longer. Workload: full-time, as a team if needed.
Document review lawyers: which review levels the team covers
First-level review
Review lawyers code every document against the protocol set by your law firm or legal department: relevance, issues, confidentiality, signs of attorney-client communication. Unclear documents go to second level rather than to an interpretation of their own.
Second-level review and quality control
Experienced reviewers check samples and borderline cases, reconcile inconsistent coding and report error rate and progress at the pace your lead sets.
Privilege review and redactions
Documents with attorney-client communication or protected content are flagged, privilege logs prepared and redactions applied as instructed. Whether a document is withheld is decided by your lead.
eDiscovery support on your platform
The team works on the platform of your law firm, your company or your eDiscovery provider. Data collection, processing and search strategy stay there; platform experience goes into the requirement profile.
Review in internal investigations
Review lawyers go through emails and records, build chronologies and prepare material for interviews. Your legal department, compliance function or instructed law firm leads the investigation.
Document review profiles – from junior to senior
Junior (0–2 years)
First-level review lawyer: coding against the protocol, tagging, document lists, recording due diligence findings.
Experienced (3–6 years)
Second-level reviewer, privilege reviewer, contract reviewer or KYC reviewer: quality control, borderline cases, privilege logs, contract review against a grid, file review.
Senior (7+ years)
Review lead or project lawyer with team responsibility: organises the team, collects interpretation questions and resolves them with your lead, reports on progress and quality and acts as the interface to outside counsel, IT and the eDiscovery provider.
What the law firm or company directs
Your lead sets scope, protocol, review standard, sampling, access rights and reporting line and is responsible for the result. Under staff leasing, professional direction generally lies with you and the professional is integrated into your organisation. Under freelancing, they deliver their work independently within the agreed mandate.
Engagement models for review teams in Switzerland, Germany and Austria
Review teams usually work under staff leasing because they work in your systems and under your instructions every day. A defined task, such as quality control by an experienced professional, also suits freelancing. Both are available part-time or full-time, for individuals or teams.
Switzerland
The contracting party is Alpinum Solutions AG, under staff leasing (Personalverleih) or freelancing. More on the Swiss market on our page on interim legal counsel in Switzerland.
Germany
The contracting party is Alpinum Solutions GmbH, under temporary agency work (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung) or freelancing. More on the German market on our page on interim legal counsel in Germany.
Austria
Review assignments in Austria run as freelancing or as staff leasing through the German or the Swiss company.
Limits
Alpinum is not a law firm and does not offer managed review with responsibility for the result. Legal assessment, the review platform and forensic data collection are not part of the assignment.
Process: from review scope to a calibrated team
01 · Clarify the scope
We discuss document volume, languages, platform, review levels, protocol and deadline. This determines team size and the mix of levels.
02 · Profiles within 48 hours
You receive selected profiles of review lawyers and review leads from our database of 7,500+ interviewed and vetted legal & compliance professionals and make the choice yourself. We agree the start date together; this is not a guarantee.
03 · Training and calibration
Your lead trains the team on protocol and platform. A first test batch shows whether everyone codes consistently before the full volume starts.
04 · Ongoing work and close-out
Progress and quality are reported at your pace, and the team size can be adjusted to the volume. At the end the team hands over documentation and open points. Alpinum remains your contact for contract, extensions and administration.
How much do document review lawyers cost?
Switzerland
Hourly rates excluding VAT, as of 18 Oct 2026: CHF 75–100 for junior (0–2 years), CHF 100–150 for experienced (3–6 years), CHF 150–225+ for senior (7+ years).
Germany and Austria
Hourly rates excluding VAT, as of 18 Oct 2026, the same in Austria: staff leasing EUR 60–90 (junior), EUR 90–120 (experienced) and EUR 120–180+ (senior); freelancing EUR 90–120, EUR 120–170 and EUR 170–250+.
What a review team costs
Document volume, deadline and the mix of levels are decisive: first level is often done by junior profiles, while second level, privilege review and team leadership need experienced or senior profiles. How the models differ in cost is explained in our guide to cost models in interim legal & compliance.
Case study: KYC task force of eight compliance officers
Frequently asked questions about document review lawyers and review teams
Does Alpinum offer managed review?
No. Alpinum provides review lawyers, review leads and teams. Protocol, review standard and result are owned by your law firm or company. How a review team is staffed, trained and calibrated is covered in our guide to document review for law firms: staffing, process and quality.
Is there an example from practice?
Yes, for instance the KYC task force of eight compliance officers at a financial institution: KYC file reviews under staff leasing, a team lead reporting to internal compliance, team start around two weeks after the order, project completed in ten months.
Do review lawyers need to be admitted to the bar?
Whether bar admission or training in a particular jurisdiction is required is decided by your law firm or legal department. That requirement goes into the profile and drives the selection, as do languages and platform experience.
Does Alpinum bring a review platform?
No. The team works on the platform of your law firm, your company or your eDiscovery provider, with the access rights you grant. Confidentiality agreements are part of every assignment.
How does this page differ from litigation and backlog?
Document review describes the service and team set-up for any kind of review. Litigation, investigations & eDiscovery is the practice area around proceedings and investigations. Backlog, review & investigation is the occasion when built-up work has to be cleared.
Related services: litigation support lawyers · legal review and investigation support · KYC remediation and AML teams
Discuss your needs: put together a review team
Tell us the document volume, languages, platform, review levels and deadline. You receive selected profiles within 48 hours and a proposal on team size and levels.