On Feb. 8, Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck conducted a status conference regarding the discovery protocol in Da Silva Moore v. Publicis Groupe, including a detailed discussion on the appropriate use of technology-assisted review. During the conference, Peck opined, “It certainly works better than most of the alternatives, if not all of the alternatives. So the idea is not to make it perfect … [t]he idea is to make it significantly better than the alternatives without nearly as much cost.”

Shortly thereafter on Feb. 24, Peck issued a formal opinion addressing the efficacy and appropriate use of technology-assisted review. In this landmark opinion, Peck concludes: “What the Bar should take away from this Opinion is that computer-assisted review is an available tool and should be seriously considered for use in large-data-volume cases where it may save the producing party (or both parties) significant amounts of legal fees in document review. Counsel no longer have to worry about being the 'first' or 'guinea pig' for judicial acceptance of computer-assisted review.”

For the multitudes of practitioners waiting for the bench to officially “bless” the use of technology-assisted review, the wait appears to be over. However, despite Peck's opinion officially opening formal judicial discussion of technology-assisted review, Da Silva Moore is not a “one size fits all” endorsement that eliminates the need to adhere to existing best practices. Prospectively, courts will likely continue to follow the existing rubric—seeking to marry a defensible document review process with robust, innovative technology.