From the expert on eDiscovery:
Regular readers may tire of my extolling the virtues of native forms of production; but battleships turn slowly, and this one must yet be turned. …
The Case for Native, I Swear
The Case for Native, I Swear
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Tag Archives: electronic discovery
AI and Law Firms
We’ve been hearing a lot about AI (artificial intelligence) in broader society and our profession. What is it exactly and how can law firms leverage it?
Artificial intelligence mimics certain operations of the human mind and is the term used when machines are able to complete tasks that typically require human intelligence. The term machine learning is when computers use rules (algorithms) to analyze data and learn patterns and glean insights from the data. Artificial intelligence is a large factor shifting the way legal work is done.
Experts tell us that AI has the potential of taking over these tasks:
- Reviewing standard contractual terms
- Proofing documents
- Issuing spotting
- Sorting through electronic discovery
- Conducting legal research
- Running due diligence background checks on clients
- Predicting legal outcomes
- Automating divorce
- Mining data – in the areas of client relations, client retention, and law firm profitability
- Investigating data breaches
- Managing document storage
- Using predictive analytics for jury selection
And in some cases, it already has.
Should we be afraid? Absolutely not! Consider these words from the head of a knowledge management (AI) team at the Reed Smith law firm in London:
(AI) is looking to be a massive time-saver for firms, and bringing true value on the more repetitive tasks – lawyers spend less time trawling through endless files. Instead, computer programs can read documents, interpret them, and identify the case-relevant results – all in a matter of minutes. And how might lawyers use this newly freed time of theirs? Dillon says now “legal work is much more interesting as computers can do the donkey work, and the lawyers are able to do more analysis,” adding further value for the client. AI can even take advisory roles, although not extensively. It can’t provide specific advice to a client on a specific matter, but can answer simple and common legal questions.
Computers doing the donkey work? I can get behind that.
All Rights Reserved 2019 Beverly Michaelis
Preserving Mobile Data in Anticipation of Litigation
In a recent post, eDiscovery expert Craig Ball makes the case for routine preservation of data contained on mobile devices. I concur.
The tendency is to dismiss or ignore the degree to which we lean on our smartphones and tablets. We either assume the data is preserved elsewhere or we convince ourselves that mobile devices couldn’t possibly contain anything relevant or unique. Both beliefs are false. Craig’s post is a wakeup call for both law firms and their clients. Consider his key points:
- Texting has overtaken email as a means of direct and candid communication. No competent business person would never send a letter or email without retaining a copy. The same standard should apply to text messages.
- Mobile data is accessible and easy to backup using iTunes. (Yes, I know the interface deserves a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0%, but it does work.)
- Preserving data does not mean it must be produced.
There is much more to this topic, and I encourage you to read the full post.
A Lesson for Lawyers
There is a takeaway for lawyers too. In Oregon, the “client file” includes text messages if they bear on the merits of a client’s position in the matter. This begs the question: are you preserving client texts? If not, look into Zipwhip, which I’ve discussed before. It has many advantages, not the least of which is the ability to save texts as PDFs to the client file.
All Rights Reserved 2017 Beverly Michaelis
Oregon Law Practice Management 