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Legal Discovery Review Capacity Estimator

Measure whether a discovery review team can absorb a defined document backlog within a chosen work window. It is intended for legal operations teams that need to compare an incoming workload with the throughput a review team can realistically deliver.

The result is a planning estimate, not a legal deadline or staffing mandate. Use measured review rates where possible, and reduce utilization to reflect meetings, escalations, quality checks, and other non-review work. The capacity gap shows whether the selected team and period are likely to clear the stated workload.

Calculator inputs

documents
people
documents/hr
hr/day
days
%
Result
—
Estimated period capacity
Daily capacity—
Estimated days needed—
Capacity gap—
Workload coverage—

1. Enter the workload
Provide the number of documents currently awaiting review.

2. Set the team size
Enter the reviewers who will actually perform this work during the period.

3. Use a realistic review rate
Enter the average number of documents one reviewer can complete in a productive hour.

4. Account for productive time
Set productive hours per reviewer and planned utilization rather than assuming every paid hour is review time.

5. Choose the planning window
Enter the number of workdays available, then compare period capacity with the backlog.

6. Review the gap
A positive capacity gap indicates spare capacity; a negative value indicates an estimated shortfall.

Daily capacity = Reviewers × documents per hour × Productive hours per day × Utilization Period capacity = Daily capacity × Workdays Days needed = Workload ÷ Daily capacity

Utilization is entered as a percentage and converted to a decimal in the calculation. This model assumes the average review rate remains reasonably stable during the selected period. It does not account automatically for reviewer skill differences, batching delays, privilege escalations, system outages, or changes in the composition of the review population.

What the result means

The main result is the estimated amount the selected team can review during the planning window.

This is an operational planning model; it does not determine whether a legal review is sufficient or timely under any specific matter or rule.

Given
Workload: 120,000 documents
Reviewers: 18
Average rate: 55 documents per hour
Productive time: 6 hours per day
Utilization: 85%
Workdays: 10

Calculation
Daily capacity = 18 × 55 × 6 × 0.85 = 5,049.0 documents
Period capacity = 5,049.0 × 10 = 50,490 documents

Result
The team can process about 50,490 documents in 10 workdays. Compare that figure with the workload to see whether staffing, time, or throughput needs to change.

Should I use scheduled hours or productive review hours?

Use productive review hours. Exclude time that is predictably consumed by meetings, administration, training, or other duties unless your utilization percentage already captures those losses.

What review rate should I enter?

Use a measured rate from comparable work when available. A blended historical rate is usually more useful than a best-case rate because complexity can materially change throughput.

Does a positive capacity gap mean the deadline is safe?

No. It means the modeled capacity exceeds the entered workload under the stated assumptions. Court orders, filing dates, quality requirements, and unexpected workload changes still need separate review.

How should I handle multiple reviewer groups with different speeds?

Run separate scenarios for each group or use a weighted average rate based on the hours each group is expected to contribute. Avoid a simple average when team sizes or work hours differ substantially.

Why can actual throughput be lower than the estimate?

Escalations, rework, technical issues, difficult records, and uneven task assignment can reduce realized output. Updating the inputs with actual daily performance makes the estimate more useful.