The Washington, D.C., antitrust practice at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has always relied on some form of outside help when aiding clients in securing merger clearances.

The firm is simply not equipped to process the review of millions of documents requested by the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission over a two- to three-week timetable. But while it used to turn to roughly 50 contract reviewers under a layer of associates, the firm has minted a new relationship with alternative provider Level Legal to spin off more of the work.