In the 2008 remake to “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” Keanu Reeves’ Klaatu character says, “Your problem is not technology. The problem is you. You lack the will to change.” The legal industry has faced a similar problem. The technology and related data and analytics have been available to help both the sell side (law firms) and the buy side (clients) get better results, but the legal industry was slower to adopt technology platforms and analytics than other industry verticals.
However, over the last few years, law firms and clients have accelerated their use of technology and analytics platforms powered by artificial intelligence/machine learning and data visualization. Some of the main drivers of accelerated adoption of technology and data in dispute resolution are:
- Law firms focused on improving their likelihood of success in a litigation;
- Clients being more scientific in selecting outside counsel;
- A need to do things faster and in a more cost-efficient manner;
- A need to provide greater insights and strategic advice to external and internal clients that goes beyond a strong litigation strategy and drafting strong pleadings; and
- A need for law firms to better differentiate themselves as a result of commoditization (there are a lot of great lawyers out there) and increased transparency into the depth of capabilities of mid-sized firms that historically were not on the radars of in-house groups.
