Kansas City-based Polsinelli is turning to New Law pioneer UnitedLex to build out a litigation solutions center focused on bolstering its eDiscovery capabilities.

The center, dubbed PolsinelliPLUS, will also give the firm and its clients access to Questio, UnitedLex's proprietary early case assessment tool. Both UnitedLex and the firm contend that by reducing the number of documents that attorneys must review by 90%, the arrangement will deliver clients significant savings on litigation costs.

"Polsinelli understands the physical and economic burden that clients experience with eDiscovery and legal data management, "Polsinelli chairman and CEO Chase Simmons said in a statement. "We are committed to continuous innovation that reduces cost and drives value for the companies we serve. This new solutions center will provide the highest level of customer service across the eDiscovery spectrum."

Polsinelli will also gain access to UnitedLex's technology platforms relating to eDiscovery, contracts and intellectual property. The firm will also be able to tap into 1,500 global attorney reviewers provided by UnitedLex. Additionally, its attorneys and staff can avail themselves of on-site training, lectures and continuing legal education programs from the company.

"Polsinelli is a textbook example of a law firm that has embraced digital transformation. PolsinelliPLUS has allowed UnitedLex and Polsinelli to achieve the best possible outcomes for clients," UnitedLex president David Deppe said in a statement. "We could not be more aligned on our collective mission and are grateful for the opportunity to have built this with the great people at Polsinelli."

UnitedLex CEO Dan Reed was unavailable to discuss the specifics of the arrangement Monday, but on the surface, it appears significantly less ambitious than the company's last publicly touted tie-up with a U.S. law firm.

In May 2018, the company launched "strategic business platform" ULX Partners with LeClairRyan, which announced it was disbanding just 16 months later. Under the arrangement, ULX hired more than 300 administrative and legal support professionals from the now bankrupt firm, taking over back-office and support staff services.

The plan behind that initiative was to enlist a growing number of law firms as partners. Like LeClairRyan, these firms would be granted minority equity stakes in the venture and rely upon it for their legal support functions—including HR, IT, knowledge management, pricing and procuring. Reed said at the time that his goal was to have 10,000 ULX employees in five years, but he has not gone on the record about the fate of the operation since LeClairRyan's fate became obvious.