Winsor Law Group Blog

Written by: Albert J. Higgins, Esq.

We often hear about the ever-changing world of technology and how it impacts the practice of law and legal compliance. Companies all around the world spend significant time and resources collecting data. Big data, privacy, and emerging technology is an area of business that is rapidly affecting each industry in today’s changing market including the legal industry. 

Aside from technology and its capabilities being so fascinating, this field is the future of every industry. Understanding how big data and the law tie together is fundamental to effective growth. As a society, we are reliant on technology, and as consumers we give off data everyday through transactions and common interactions with others. Businesses collect this data to help make decisions. The process of collecting data and transforming it into quantifiable and relevant information enables businesses to use that data to express their strategies and objectives into measureable plans that they can use to proactively predict future trends and behaviors.

Similar to all other industries, the legal industry is starting to implement these same strategies and technologies as well. The collection and analysis of legal data is known as legal analytics. There is immense value in emerging technology and legal analytics for both the court system and our clients. Risks inherent to litigation and legal transactions can be quantified and mitigated through proper analysis and implementation. For instance, lawyers are able to sift through large amounts of data in a significantly shorter amount of time and better identify relevant information. In fact, studies have shown that technology-assisted review (one of many legal analytic applications) is at least 50 times more efficient than human-review or manual review.  Ultimately, this can translate to less expensive, quicker, and more efficient legal services for clients. 

In addition, legal analytics can be used as a predictive tool. Through in-depth, granular analysis of legal data in combination with proprietary algorithms designed by companies that specialize in data analytics, a lawyer is able to predict the likelihood of successful strategies and quantify the risks associated. In doing so, lawyers are able to assess the most efficient and cost-effective way to staff a case. Of course, just as there are potential privacy and ethical risks when using big data in any other industry, those same risks are also present when used in a legal context and should be carefully considered. 

Clients should be looking for law firms that are actively looking for solutions in how to integrate technology to increase efficiency and value, rather than law firms that are firmly opposed to change. Businesses, driven by fluctuating markets and consumer demand, are rapidly evolving. Understanding how legal analytics plays a crucial role in a firm’s strategy and operations will enable business to keep up with market demand. Clients should trust that their attorneys are embracing the latest legal technologies to provide a better service to them.

When strategically implemented, the results from collecting analytic data can be extremely useful and is an invaluable tool in gaining a fuller scope of relevant information and is a means in which to quantify risks and make reasonably reliable predictions.

Contact us today to learn how legal analytics can benefit you!

*The information provided in this article is of a general nature and reflects only the opinion of the author at the time it was drafted. It is not intended as definitive legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not act upon it without seeking independent legal counsel.