Litigation Support Tools are the specialist systems, processes, and capabilities that enable complex disputes to be handled to the required standard of quality.

Within the Disputes Line, they underpin the high-end claim management pathways, ensuring that serious disputes are executed with rigor, speed, and evidentiary control.

This Station exists to ensure that when a dispute must be litigated, it is done deliberately, professionally, and without avoidable error.

Litigation Support Tools apply to disputes that justify formal proceedings or heightened scrutiny.

They are activated selectively, based on claim category and pathway - not universally.

◼️Evidence Management: structured collection, preservation, and review of documents and data.

◼️E-Discovery Capability: proportional discovery workflows aligned to matter risk.

◼️Early Case Assessment: tools supporting merits, exposure, and strategy evaluation.

◼️Litigation Workflow: milestone tracking from pleadings through resolution.

◼️Counsel Collaboration: secure information exchange with external firms.

◼️Expert Management: coordination of expert evidence and analysis.

◼️Knowledge Reuse: access to prior pleadings, strategies, and outcomes.

◼️Governance Oversight: visibility of litigation progress and risk position.

The Litigation Support Tools station is considered a Specialist resource within the GLS Legal Operations model. 

A Specialist Resource: Is responsible for driving the performance of a very specific part of an individual legal function. Its productivity contribution is limited to that single legal function. 

A best-practice Litigation Support capability exhibits the following characteristics:

◼️Selective Activation: deployed only where claim category justifies the overhead.

◼️Quality Assurance: reduces procedural error in high-risk litigation.

◼️Evidence Discipline: enforces defensible document handling and review.

◼️Speed Advantage: accelerates insight without sacrificing accuracy.

◼️Counsel Control: prevents litigation being run entirely outside the organisation.

◼️Strategic Memory: preserves institutional knowledge across matters.

◼️Proportionality: scales tooling to dispute complexity.

◼️Decision Transparency: supports informed strategic choices under pressure.

Litigation Support Tools deliver the following value to the business:

◼️Outcome Protection: improves prospects in disputes that must be fought.

◼️Risk Containment: reduces exposure created by poor litigation execution.

◼️Reputational Control: ensures sensitive disputes are handled professionally.

◼️Cost Justification: supports informed decisions to litigate or settle.

◼️Speed to Insight: enables faster understanding of case strengths and weaknesses.

◼️Board Assurance: provides confidence that serious disputes are being managed properly.

◼️External Dependence Reduction: avoids blind reliance on law firms.

◼️Institutional Learning: prevents repeat mistakes in litigation strategy.

Litigation Support Tools deliver the following value to the legal department:

◼️Execution Confidence: equips Legal to run complex disputes competently.

◼️Counsel Leverage: strengthens Legal’s position in directing external firms.

◼️Evidence Control: avoids reactive document scrambles.

◼️Strategic Depth: supports high-quality legal judgment with data.

◼️Repeatability: reduces reinvention across major disputes.

◼️Credibility Lift: reinforces Legal’s authority in serious matters.

◼️Time Efficiency: accelerates preparation without shortcuts.

◼️Professional Standards: embeds best practice litigation hygiene.

This Station is essential for:

◼️Litigation-Exposed Businesses

◼️Regulated Industries

◼️Precedent-Sensitive Organisations

◼️High-Value Contracting Environments

◼️Board-Visible Dispute Portfolios

◼️Complex Multi-Party Disputes

◼️Cross-Border Litigation Profiles

◼️Mature Legal Functions

Without appropriate Litigation Support Tools:

◼️Execution Errors: procedural mistakes undermine strong cases.

◼️Evidence Chaos: documents are lost, duplicated, or mishandled.

◼️Counsel Dominance: law firms control pace and strategy.

◼️Delayed Insight: decisions are made too late.

◼️Excess Cost: inefficiency is baked into litigation spend.

◼️Knowledge Loss: lessons disappear with each matter.

◼️Leadership Risk: serious disputes are mishandled under scrutiny.

◼️False Economy: cost savings create outcome risk.

This Station is inherently technology-enabled:

◼️Litigation Management Systems

◼️E-Discovery Platforms

◼️AI-Driven Document Review

◼️AI Search & Issue Mapping

◼️Expert Evidence Tools

◼️Secure Counsel Portals

◼️Workflow & Milestone Tracking

◼️Knowledge Repositories

◼️Analytics & Outcome Tracking