The demand for data science talent is at an all-time high. But as the legal sector competes against other fields to attract and hire data scientists, the lack of a clear vision for the role of data science within an organization may create challenges in retaining that talent long term.

For law firms and alternative legal service providers to succeed in their data analytics capabilities, “it’s more about creating an ecosystem where these data scientists can thrive,” said Abhishek Mittal, global head, data analytics and excellence at Wolters Kluwer GRC. “And my worry is if you just pay a lot of big bucks to get the two top guys, that might not be sustainable.”