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Note: The following is a guest post from Daryn Teague, who provides support to the litigation software product line within the LexisNexis software division.
Many progressive corporate legal departments have moved analytics to the front-end of their litigation management efforts. The idea is to get their arms around the litigation data as early as possible so the team can map out the size, scope and scale of the electronic evidence involved in a new matter.
Expert panelists at the November meeting of the NewLaw 2020 working group – an invitation-only peer group consisting of professionals in the legal and technology industries – tackled this issue and addressed ideas to help identify how analytics can be used to improve litigation management and outcomes.
During the discussion, key suggestions emerged for how to use analytics:
1. Early data assessment. Take advantage of technology tools to get an early look at the scope of the data and produce reports that assess what you’ll be dealing with in the specific case at hand.
2. Cost projections. Attach actual budget projections for managing the data involved in a case so the team can visualize what the likely costs will be for the entire continuum of data collection, processing, review and production.
3. Risk analysis. Flag specific areas of risk to the corporate client by using analytics that help you to understand potential challenges with chain of custody issues and other possible data custodian problems.
4. Information governance. Analytics that produce insights regarding crucial information governance processes – such as litigation holds – enables litigation teams to conduct a “smart triage” on the data involved in a matter and advise on key strategic considerations.
5. Defensibility. It’s essential that litigants be prepared to prove that proper methodologies for identifying both responsive and privileged documents were implemented. Analytics help corporate clients protect the organization when it comes to defensibility in how they managed data in litigation.
The NewLaw 2020 series consists of monthly virtual meetings in which participants are engaged and educated on evolving trends that impact legal business models. The initiative is managed by The Cowen Group and is underwritten by LexisNexis.
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