Increasingly, e-discovery practitioners are facing more GIFs, emojis and videos as potential evidence. Within this environment, panelists gathered for Legalweek(year) 2021′s "The Latest in Computer Vision & E-Discovery" session noted e-discovery practitioners will need to keep a steady grasp of the evolving communication channels and continue to question e-discovery software providers.

To be sure, ethical rules adopted by the American Bar Association and many state bars have a technical competence requirement. However, understanding emerging data points like these will also be important to advising clients and spotting legal tech marketing hype, noted Baker & Hostetler partner and emerging technology team co-leader James Sherer. 

"I think as a practitioner we know under the ethical canons you're required to know a certain amount, to know what you don't know and to parse that out," Sherer noted. "I argue you need to know more to help your clients … you [also] have to know enough when someone is giving you a marketing [shtick] rather than the realties."