By hiring Zev Eigen, a data scientist with a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Littler Mendelson publicly placed its bet more than two years ago on the potential that data analytics would change the way law is practiced.

Littler is poised to announce its hire of a chief data analytics officer, Aaron Crews, who will be tasked with managing the firm's data capabilities and to help it roll out more technology-based products based on the ideas of the firm's existing data scientists.

Littler has already been tapping into the data it has collected for the past five-plus years through its Littler CaseSmart platform. One product spearheaded by Eigen is a prediction model for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges that Littler has used internally to gauge outcomes and prices for client matters. Last year the firm also began offering Equal Pay audits, which more than 100 clients have used to determine their risk of discrimination claims.

Thomas Bender, co-president and co-managing partner at Littler, said there is an “endless horizon” for the possibilities on how data analytics can change the practice of law.

“There are so many things that you can do with it, and we have been working at it for a long time,” Bender said. “What we felt was important, though, was to have somebody who had a strong background in this area with demonstrated management skills, and who could get us going in the right direction.”

Crews, a former Littler partner and electronic discovery counsel, re-joins the firm after having spent the past six months as general counsel and vice president of strategy at legal artificial intelligence company Text IQ, a position he discussed late last year with LegalTech News. Before that, Crews spent three years as a senior associate general counsel and global head of e-discovery at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., having joined the retail giant from Littler in 2014.

Crews, who in returning to Littler will be based out of Sacramento, said his new role at the firm is a corollary to the rise of legal operations professionals within corporate legal departments. As those individuals look for ways to make their in-house departments more efficient, Crews said he will be working to help Littler use data analytics to provide more efficient client service with deeper insights into how to manage or budget certain types of work.

Aaron Crews

“They've been voicing some concerns to legal service providers for some period of time and really feel like they haven't been fully heard,” Crews said. “This is another example of Littler innovating and saying, 'We hear you.'”

As for the potential for data analytics to reshape the practice and business of law, Crews said one long-term development may be the creation of a financial market where companies can trade legal claims. As data around legal outcomes becomes better understood and more readily available, pricing claims to more specific numbers may become easier.

“I can absolutely see that coming,” Crews said.

More granular data in certain practice areas, such as wage-and-hour class actions, for instance, could give companies more specific insights—and sooner in the litigation process, Crews said. That may allow a company to price the risk of its litigation and attempt to sell that claim at a discount to an entity that believed it could settle or manage the claim for a lower price.

“People already buy and sell claims, but the problem is they're often not well understood. And by the times they are, your ability to engage in litigation arbitrage is somewhat limited,” Crews said. “The goal there would be to really understand at a data level what does the possible exposure look like with an understanding added on of what is the true worst case from a legal liability standpoint.”

In the more short-term, Bender said that Littler's investments in data analytics and technology tools that help clients leverage the insights that it garners will help his firm win over clients.

“I think we'll have a huge leg up,” Bender said. “The whole reason we invested in data analytics over the years is to provide better client service. Clients want it faster, cheaper, better. And that's not going to get any easier. That's not going to slow down.”

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