If there's been on consistent theme at the Corporate Legal Operational Consortium 2019 Institute  in Las Vegas, it's that properly organized data can open the door to all kinds of lucrative possibilities, from more-accurate case budgeting to effective litigation strategies.

Still, the “Using AI to Digitize Lawsuits to Perform Actionable Data Analytics” session at day two of the conference posited that despite the fact that there's a large appetite for such insights at law firms, there are a few obstacles standing in the way. Chief among them? Matter profiling is very difficult work.

Patrick DiDomenico, chief information officer at Ogletree Deakins, for example, noted that  the process of structuring unstructured data being expensive and altogether mind-numbing work. Incentive is also an issue. Lawyers beginning work on a new matter may not have much data to work with and once they do, it's time to move onto another case.

“It's something that everyone wants but no one is willing to contribute to,” DiDomenico said.

Panelists compared the infrastructure necessary to effectively mine data for insights to a three-legged stool. A firm needs the right people, process and technology in place, a triumvirate that is oftentimes nonnegotiable. Without having a standardized process designed for data collection, for example, there's a chance that firms could inadvertently collect the wrong data pertaining to a matter.

“I've experienced deficiencies in all of these areas, and it can definitely be problematic,” DiDomenico said.

He also stressed the importance of having some kind of change management oversight established, since making changes to traditional workflow patterns tends to throw people out of whack. Indeed, while the human element may be a crucial part of the three-legged stool, it's also a potential vulnerability. Alan Bryan, senior associate general counsel at Walmart, said  firms have to be mindful of their input process when collecting data.

“Because people and technology are combining on these processes you still have that element of human error,” Bryan said.

Nevertheless, all of the panelists agreed that the insights gained from structured data sets were worth the effort. From a corporate legal department perspective, Bryan pointed to performance-oriented metrics being useful in the course of an organization's ongoing relationship with outside counsel.

While the panel indicated that some people may find cold and hard statistics off-putting, Bryan said that law firms want the kind of feedback that was previously hard to articulate in quantifiable terms.

“It really helps you give the feedback you need to be giving to your law firms,” Bryan said.