Service · Southern California

When discovery decides the case, the evidence has to be handled right.

Technical litigation support for Southern California law firms — defensible collection, predictable cost, and security-first handling across the full EDRM. Tech Bodyguard is the natural extension of our forensic practice: the same chain-of-custody discipline behind our Departure Forensics work, applied to the electronically stored information (ESI) that decides modern cases. We're a local partner for solo, small, and mid-size firms — not a national per-GB vendor, and not a law firm.

// In brief
  • Discovery is 50–90% of litigation cost — handling it wrong is expensive and creates defensibility and spoliation risk that follows the matter to trial.
  • Tech Bodyguard provides EDRM-aligned technical support: forensic collection, processing, hosting, review support, and court-ready production — with named engineers and documented chain of custody.
  • Local SoCal presence, security-first evidence handling, and predictable per-matter or retainer pricing — not national per-GB surprise billing.
The discipline

Collect · Process · Produceone mission.

Collect

We get the evidence out without breaking it.

Forensically sound collection from email, file shares, Microsoft 365, Teams, Slack, Google Workspace, mobile devices, and cloud apps — with metadata intact, hash verification, and a documented chain of custody. Improper collection is where defensibility dies, so this is our core strength, drawn straight from our forensic practice.

Process

We turn raw data into a reviewable, defensible set.

Deduplication, DeNIST, format normalization, and load-file creation reduce volume and cost before anyone bills an hour of review. Every transformation is logged, so the set your attorneys review is both smaller and fully accountable back to the original source.

Produce

We deliver productions that hold up.

Bates numbering, redaction burn-in, privilege-log support, agreed formats, and validated load files — court-ready productions that meet the format and defensibility standards opposing counsel and the court expect.

What we cover

Everything ediscovery & litigation supportactually requires.

Forensically Sound Collection

Defensible collection with hash verification, preserved metadata, and a documented chain of custody — the foundation everything downstream relies on.

Mobile & Cloud Data Collection

Targeted, defensible collection from iOS/Android devices, Microsoft 365, Teams, Slack, and Google Workspace — where most responsive ESI now lives.

Processing, DeNIST & Deduplication

We cull system noise, remove duplicates, and normalize formats to shrink the review population — and the cost — before review begins.

Review Platform Hosting

Hosting on an industry-standard review platform with technical support for your review team, including technology-assisted review (TAR) setup.

Search Terms & Early Case Assessment

Search-term development, testing, and early case assessment so your team sees the shape of the data — and the cost curve — early.

Court-Ready Production

Bates numbering, redaction burn-in, agreed formats, and validated load files that meet production obligations without a re-do.

Chain-of-Custody & Defensibility

Every collection, transfer, and transformation is documented so the handling of your evidence is defensible if it's ever challenged.

Matter Project Management

A named engineer manages scope, deadlines, and deliverables per matter — acting as an extension of your litigation support function.

The EDRM framework

How we help atevery stage.

The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) is the industry map of the discovery lifecycle. Here's what Tech Bodyguard does at each stage — and where your attorneys stay firmly in control of every legal judgment.

  1. 01

    Information Governance

    We advise on data retention and legal-hold readiness so responsive data exists and is findable when a matter arises.

  2. 02

    Identification

    We map where responsive data lives — email, file shares, Teams, Slack, mobile devices, and cloud apps — before anything is touched.

  3. 03

    Preservation

    We implement legal holds and defensible preservation so relevant ESI isn't altered or lost, avoiding spoliation exposure.

  4. 04

    Collection

    We collect in a forensically sound way with chain of custody and metadata integrity — this is our core strength.

  5. 05

    Processing

    We deduplicate, DeNIST, normalize formats, and build load files to reduce volume and prepare the set for review.

  6. 06

    Review

    We host the data on a review platform and support your review team; your attorneys make every relevance and privilege call.

  7. 07

    Analysis

    We support search-term development and early case assessment so the team understands the data and the exposure early.

  8. 08

    Production

    We deliver court-ready productions — Bates numbering, redaction burn-in, agreed formats, and validated load files.

  9. 09

    Presentation

    We prepare trial-ready exhibits and data so the evidence is ready for depositions, hearings, and trial.

The problem we solve

Why does eDiscovery go wrong for small and mid-size firms?

Discovery is where cases are won, lost, and quietly overspent — yet most smaller firms have no in-house litigation support staff and no forensic tooling, so they hand everything to a national vendor and lose both control and margin.

50–90%

of civil litigation cost is spent on discovery

Source: RAND Institute for Civil Justice
Per-GB

vendor billing turns a routine matter into an unpredictable, escalating invoice

Metadata

altered during improper collection undermines authenticity and admissibility

Spoliation

lost or altered ESI exposes the firm and its client to sanctions

Clear lines

What we handle,what you decide.

Tech Bodyguard handles
  • Forensically sound collection and preservation
  • Processing, culling, DeNIST, deduplication, and load files
  • Review-platform hosting and technical review support
  • Court-ready production, Bates numbering, and redaction burn-in
  • Matter project management and deadline coordination
  • Chain-of-custody and defensibility documentation
Your attorneys control
  • All relevance determinations
  • All privilege review and privilege-log decisions
  • Legal strategy and case theory
  • Meet-and-confer positions and negotiated protocols
  • Custodian and scope decisions
  • Every legal judgment — start to finish
Why Tech Bodyguard

Local, secure,predictable.

Local SoCal presence

On-site collection when a matter needs it — no shipping drives and devices across the country and hoping the evidence survives the trip.

Security-first handling

We're a cybersecurity firm first. Evidence is handled to the same standard as our Departure Forensics practice — encrypted, access-controlled, and logged end to end.

Predictable pricing

Flat-fee and per-matter options instead of per-GB escalation, so a routine collection doesn't become a five-figure surprise at production time.

Named engineers

The same team works your matters — not an anonymous ticket queue in a national processing center.

Direct forensic capability

We collect ourselves, using our own forensic tooling and chain-of-custody procedures. We don't subcontract the most defensibility-critical step.

Our approach

How a ediscovery & litigation support engagementactually runs.

01

Scope & Preserve

We map where responsive ESI lives, implement legal holds, and scope the matter up front — with a written, fixed quote — so there are no per-GB surprises. Your attorneys define relevance and custodians; we handle the defensible preservation.

02

Collect & Process

We collect forensically with full chain of custody, then process — DeNIST, dedupe, normalize, build load files — to cut the review population and cost before review begins. Every step is logged for defensibility.

03

Review Support & Produce

We host the set, support your review team (including TAR), then deliver court-ready productions with Bates numbering, redactions, and validated load files. Attorneys make all privilege and relevance calls; we make the technical output defensible.

Engagement models

Scoped toyour caseload.

Per-matter

Scoped and quoted up front for a specific case — the right fit for a one-off litigation or investigation with a defined data set.

Managed litigation support

A monthly retainer for firms with a steady caseload, with Tech Bodyguard acting as an ongoing extension of your litigation support function.

Collection-only

Forensically sound collection and preservation when your firm or its chosen vendor handles processing, review, and production.

Technology + hosting only

Review-platform provisioning and hosting with firm self-service, when your team runs the review and just needs the environment.

// Free · No sales call

eDiscovery Readiness Assessment

A free litigation-readiness review for your firm: where your responsive data lives, how a defensible collection would run, and a predictable, written estimate for the matter in front of you — no per-GB guesswork.

Take the eDiscovery Readiness Assessment
Common questions

eDiscovery & Litigation Support questionsworth asking.

Start here

Find out where your defenses actually stand.

Tell us about your business. We'll send you the Ransomware Reality Check, a personalized report with a letter grade and the three things to fix first. No sales call required — though we're glad to discuss the results when you're ready.

15-minute assessment
Personalized PDF report
Sent within 24 hours
No sales obligation

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