The trends driving the legal technology space evolve quickly, and as a result, keeping abreast of the latest developments can be a difficult prospect. A single case, technological advancement or cresting trend has the capacity to disrupt not only the way law is practiced, but also the effectiveness of tools developed to support it. While predicting the next big shake-up is a bit of a guessing game, no group is better prepared to give context to the space than the attorneys, vendors and analysts that live at the crossroads of technology and law. Legaltech News' Techology Digest brings together the voices of these professionals, offering an uneditorialized view into their top-of-mind thoughts and concerns. Our goal is to give deeper context to the industry, coloring our original content with the (sometimes conflicting) voices of those with boots on the ground. If you're interested in submitting a quote for consideration, please contact Executive Editor Chris DiMarco at [email protected] or tweet us @Legaltech_news. |

Evolving Law, Evolving Tech

“My favorite Grant Gilmore quote is, 'Law cannot be, since society never is, stable. A system which works well for a generation or a century must sooner or later come in for repairs.' This is meant to apply to the need for law to update in response to shifts in political ideologies and social norms. I think it applies with equal force to the legal services industry's entire food chain—from the way law is taught and practiced, to the way legal services are consumed and benchmarked. As both decision makers at organizations (e.g. clients) and lawyers see data and algorithmic programming in all aspects of their professional and personal lives, they also expect these benefits in their law practice. With technological advances driving greater automation and the self-service delivery of algorithmically tailored information, we will see improved precision and more integration of data analytics into all aspects of law.”

—Zev Eigen, national director of data analytics, Littler Mendelson

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4 Trends Affecting Managed Review Services

“The convergence of four established trends is good news for managed review services companies that offer pre-production review of large volumes of ESI at a low cost. Years of lean legal department budgets have created a new breed of price-sensitive corporate counsel who closely scrutinize outside counsel's bills—and their bids for new cases. Law firms forced to compete on the basis of cost and value are starting to overcome their reluctance to outsource document review. The second trend is the soft legal market that has created a labor pool of qualified lawyers, especially in lower-priced markets like the Midwest. This has helped to keep service provider costs down across the board and obviated any need to off-shore review work to stay competitive, the latter being a consistent source of client concerns over confidentiality and reviewers' understanding of U.S. litigation. Third is sophisticated review metrics that enable close, real-time oversight by outside counsel and meaningful evaluation of accuracy, efficiency, and cost-savings. Managed review is no longer a black box. Lastly, the fourth contributing trend is increasing use of technology-assisted review. Predictive coding facilitates outsourcing low-value documents to contract reviewers, while reserving high-value documents for law firm review.”