Hamilton Law Firm Cuts Work Time in Half and Competes with Big Firms Using Everlaw
In the high-stakes world of employment law—where cases often involve senior executives and powerful corporations—the conventional wisdom is that size equals strength. When facing off against Big Law, smaller firms can feel intimidated by the armies of associates and document reviewers on the other side of the aisle. However, New Jersey-based Hamilton Law Firm is flipping that script.
Operating as a dynamic two-person team, Owner and Managing Attorney Ayesha Hamilton and Senior Paralegal Sydney Melendez handle everything from complex litigation to motion writing and client strategy. By leveraging the right technology, they don’t just survive against larger opponents, but thrive, cutting work time in half and delivering big-firm results with a personal touch.
The firm’s small size makes collaboration natural and constant, both between Hamilton and Melendez, and with their clients. Everlaw is integral to improving efficiency, and gives clients a meaningful role in building their cases.
"Using a system like Everlaw is incredibly helpful because we can share important documents directly with the client, allowing them to explain more about what’s happening within their company," Melendez said.
Streamlining Document Management in High-Stakes Cases
Hamilton Law Firm has embraced Everlaw to manage large volumes of discovery, a must when going up against bigger firms. The firm used to store files in shared drives and kept notes elsewhere, which made review slow and error-prone.
"Throughout my time here, we’ve gone up against several big firms, including big pharma firms,” Melendez said. “Everlaw has really helped us streamline the process of finding specific documents, which is crucial when competing with those larger organizations.”
Everlaw’s search capabilities have also been a game-changer, especially considering the fact that being able to quickly find key documents and evidence can make a huge difference in winning or losing a case.
"I can't stress enough how convenient Everlaw is,” Melendez said. “When reviewing 6,000 to 7,000 documents in a few months, being able to search for specific language in quotes saves us an incredible amount of time and effort. I just type the date, and it brings me directly to the correct spot in the document set. It's very helpful and saves a lot of time."
Uncovering Critical Evidence
Everlaw’s search capabilities became especially useful in a recent high-stakes matter against a major pharmaceutical firm. The team faced a "flat" production, in which opposing counsel had provided thousands of documents as simple images rather than searchable text files.
This presented a serious problem when Hamilton and Melendez recalled a specific email where the opposing parties discussed going to an after-work event. They knew the document existed and that it was crucial to their case strategy, but because the production was non-searchable, typing the keywords into the search bar yielded zero results.
Instead of resigning themselves to the manual review of thousands of documents to find the email, Melendez turned to Everlaw’s advanced metadata filters.
“We were able to narrow down the timeline and filter by the ‘To’ and ‘From’ fields in the metadata, which helped us find the document,” Melendez said. “It was super helpful because we didn’t have time to sit there and look through all those additional documents.”
Simplifying Workflows with Intuitive Features
The firm relies on Everlaw’s intuitive features to simplify complex workflows so they can move nimbly without sacrificing quality.
"I rave about Everlaw," Melendez said. "Previously, we reviewed everything by eye, which was exhausting. I love that even handwritten words can be found by searching for the actual word, which is great from a review standpoint. Everlaw just makes life so much easier."
Many of Hamilton Law Firm’s matters involve heavy email and text message data, which makes filters for date ranges, senders, and recipients essential. These data types are notoriously difficult to search through and can be time-consuming to process.
"I absolutely love searching primary date fields when working through emails,” Melendez said. “I use it all the time. These tools cut through messy productions, including flat PDFs, and help us quickly surface the most important information.”
Bypassing the manual, administrative bottlenecks that often plague smaller teams allows the firm to manage the same volume and complexity as their larger counterparts without missing a beat.
Scaling Ambition with the Right Partner
Hamilton Law Firm is proof that in the modern legal landscape, agility often beats volume. By treating technology as a force multiplier, the team has leveled the playing field, allowing them to stand toe-to-toe with the largest firms in the country.
With Everlaw handling the heavy lifting of data processing and review, Hamilton Law Firm can focus on what they do best: building winning strategies for their clients. As they continue to take on complex matters, they do so with the confidence that they have a partner in Everlaw that scales right alongside them.
"Everlaw is seamless,” Melendez said. “It cuts my workday in half. I would absolutely recommend it."
