Law firm Eversheds Sutherland on Wednesday launched Spoliation Scientist, an artificial intelligence-powered data analytics tool designed to help both the firm's attorneys and their existing clients assess the risk of spoliation in state and federal court jurisdictions throughout the country. The solution leverages text analytics to identify where a user's case may be at risk for spoliation across different federal and state levels before distilling that information into data visualizations that can be viewed through the lens of judge, state or individual jurisdiction.

The tool's AI specifically uses a scoring system devised by Eversheds Sutherland to categorize court spoliation decisions by factors like severity, the remedy imposed and the prevailing party. As a result, users are able to view color-coded maps that show which jurisdictions tend to produce stricter sanctions—or just more sanctions period.

Spoliation Scientist was built in collaboration with legal research company Fastcase, whose API and repository of litigation data serves as the engine underneath the interface and visualizations created by Eversheds Sutherland. However, its origins lay with the litigation technology committee the firm formed to ensure it was staying ahead of developments in technology.