In the first installment of this four-part series published in early March, we described the new kind of lawyer that has emerged from nearly two decades of e-discovery work. The e-discovery lawyer—a Jack-of-all trades who has experience across a broad spectrum of practice areas. She is a tactician, a litigator and a technologist. To succeed in the evolving legal landscape, we discussed how the e-discovery lawyer should not rest on her laurels and must prepare to transform herself into an e-data lawyer—a Jill of even more trades. By understanding and using client data seamlessly, the e-data lawyer bridges the gap between a mature e-discovery practice and emerging data challenges in other areas of the law.

When we wrote the first article in this series, we did not know a global pandemic would lead to the months-long closure of businesses around the country, create a mass migration of employees to a remote work setting, and cause one of the sharpest declines in GDP since the Great Depression. Prior to the major disruptions caused by COVID-19, clients were already increasing their reliance on alternative legal service providers, seeking more automation of legal services, and requiring law firms to operate with more accountability and stricter cost controls.