New Study Shows Analytics Gaining Ground in the Legal Industry

Global News

12
Nov
2015

Editor

The legal industry is in the midst of an analytics revolution, according to a survey commissioned by the Coalition of Technology Resources for Lawyers (CTRL) via research performed by the Information Governance Initiative (IGI).

The survey, Data Analytics in the Legal Community: 2015-2016 Trends, affirms the central role of data analytics in the legal field with 93 percent of respondents reporting that data analytics will be important and 31 percent reporting it will be "indispensable" in the next decade.

CTRL's first annual survey canvassed 164 senior attorneys and IT decision-makers in various sectors including banking, government and pharmaceutical. It explored a broad range of use cases, spanning eDiscovery and information governance, as well as risk assessment, contract review, selection of outside counsel, legal matter management, billing and budgeting. Key findings include:

• eDiscovery: The most mature use case for data analytics was eDiscovery and investigations, with 56 percent of respondents deploying analytics. More than 70 percent of that group reported using analytics for culling, early case assessment and relevancy review.
• Legal Matter Management, Billing and Budgeting: The second most common use case for data analytics was legal matter management, billing and budgeting, cited by 33 percent of respondents.
• Information Governance: Data analytics for information governance came in a close third, with 28 percent of respondents using the technology -- a sign that despite its relative newness as a discipline, information governance looks to be maturing more quickly than previously thought.

"Historically, the legal industry hasn't been an early adopter of technology -- a tendency that has kept litigation costs and risks high. But the increasing utility in every industry for data analytics and machine learning applications presents a unique opportunity for the legal community to transform itself," said Dean Gonsowski, Executive Director of CTRL. "With the average U.S. enterprise facing dozens of lawsuits at once, organizations are recognizing the urgent need to ensure data analytics are being leveraged to increase efficiency and accuracy. CTRL's survey results affirms that data analytics will play a huge role in the future of the legal industry -- and that in many cases, it already is being used to significant advantage."

To access a copy of the full survey results, click here.