4 Ways AI Is Impacting eDiscovery & Review In 2024 & Beyond

Community 4 Ways AI Is Impacting eDiscovery & Review In 2024 & Beyond Barry WillmsMarch 19, 2024 Image from Bigstock {"adCodes": [{"desktop": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "display": true, "mobile": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "new_amp": "\u003camp-ad width=336 height=280\n type=\"doubleclick\"\n data-slot=\"/22278042776,22664312254/wit/wit_content\"\n data-multi-size=\"300x250\"\u003e\n\u003c/amp-ad\u003e", "order": 0, "tablet": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"}, {"desktop": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "display": true, "mobile": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "new_amp": "\u003camp-ad width=336 height=280\n type=\"doubleclick\"\n data-slot=\"/22278042776,22664312254/wit/wit_content\"\n data-multi-size=\"300x250\"\u003e\n\u003c/amp-ad\u003e", "order": 1, "tablet": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"}, {"desktop": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "display": true, "mobile": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "new_amp": "\u003camp-ad width=336 height=280\n type=\"doubleclick\"\n data-slot=\"/22278042776,22664312254/wit/wit_content\"\n data-multi-size=\"300x250\"\u003e\n\u003c/amp-ad\u003e", "order": 2, "tablet": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"}], "adsOrder": [2]}

So many things changed in 2001. Certainly, there were major political and security changes that came because of the terrorist attack on 9/11. Profound and long-lasting changes.

So, too, there were massive changes in how we conducted discovery in litigation and investigations. Specifically, discovery started to have an “e” in front of it.

Adding the “e” to Discovery 

I remember my first eDiscovery project in 2001 where discussions were held over how to collect electronic information from a computer and whether and how we should print that information to make it ‘usable.’

Slowly, everyone in litigation started to grapple with the “e” but were doing so inconsistently from law firm to law firm. Finally, in December 2006, the federal rules were amended to make their first attempt at grappling with the “e” by defining and standardizing various processes. What was readily accessible? What was proportional? How far back would you have to look and how broad would the searches be?

We had asked similar questions before but more as it related to file cabinets and filing rooms in storage facilities. Now we were grappling with backup tapes and servers and floppy disks.

The Introduction of Machine Learning 

I have long said that you deal with technology problems by using technology. When the volume of data became humanly unmanageable, we started to see the litigation world go through new changes as it relates to the use of technology. Machine learning was introduced on various review platforms. Humans made decisions that computers would then enhance and find similar documents.

The acceptance of such machine learning has not been universal. In the age of ever-changing technology, the legal landscape never seems to keep up with the business realities. Mobile devices, remote work, and all its implications are dealt with daily in the business world and in litigation. However, lawyers both by training and experience do not always have the knowledge base or the skill sets to answer the questions that inevitably arise. We need to close that knowledge gap.

AI Is Taking Over 

​Now, in 2024 we start to grapple not with the “e” in discovery but with artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the eDiscovery process. We will look at four areas that will inevitably be impacted by the use of AI and other machine-learning tools. First, we will look at the impact on the collection of data. Next, we will look at the impact on searching that data, particularly as it relates to protected content. Third, we will look at the growing impact on the review process. And finally, the impact of AI on the analysis of the data that we need for deposition or trial (i.e., the use of the data).

Collecting Data

No longer can you collect everything. There’s just too much. Data may be cheap to store, but it’s not cheap to collect, search, and review. We need to find a better way so the cost doesn’t overwhelm the value of the case.

Also, the sources of data are increasing in number. Beyond shared drives and hard drives. We now have multiple social media platforms and websites (mostly containing video instead of just text data.) This makes the use of AI critical to collect only the needed data. And to improve the process from one litigation to the next. AI can collect, preserve, and prepare the data for searching.

Searching 

AI has an incredible searching capability. Not just using antiquated keywords which have been used for more than a decade, but nuanced searching particularly for protected content. Things like attorney-client privilege, work product, or, in regulated industries, additional privileges related to banking and suspicious activity reports. Or, in the healthcare industry, anything related to protected health information, personal identifying information, HIPAA, or any of a number of other privileges that might apply to your particular industry.

We are fast approaching the ability to type or speak out a search using AI that searches, in mere seconds, across the universe of data types that you’ve collected. Then, changing or editing that search and re-doing it equally as fast. Each time, you get a better sense of the data available rather than searching for keywords or having attorneys review each set to see what’s in the data.

Review Is Changing 

When I started as a baby lawyer looking at documents, we had pieces of paper and we had a file room where that paper was stored. We had individuals looking at each page wondering what we might discover as we went through someone’s file. Gradually, we started to use the computer for tagging and consistency between different productions in different locales.

The industry finally moved on to machine learning where individual attorneys could make decisions that the computer would then try to replicate and enhance rationally to include similar documents. (Not unlike how streaming services try to find you movies similar to the ones that you have liked or watched before.)

The growth of AI in the review space is not over. Instead of just assisting the lawyer on that first-level review to find responsive, confidential, or privileged materials, I see AI quickly making that step disappear completely.

Instead, a higher-level, experienced review attorney who specializes in quality control review or in that specific industry will focus on training the AI and then sifting through what the technology has identified as responsive, confidential, or privileged. That quality step is necessary but it will also likely be limited as AI becomes more sophisticated and nuanced and lawyers become more comfortable with its outputs.

Analysis

​This would include documents you are producing for the other side as well as documents you are receiving from the other side.

AI can go through an enormous amount of information in a short amount of time. It can categorize it and put documents into subject matter buckets considerably faster than a human can. It can also spit out its analysis of what it has categorized.

AI no doubt will be increasingly used for this step possibly removing the need for the young associate at the outside counsel and, much like in the review world where only quality reviewers are remaining, only those dealing with the actual litigation will need to look at those documents.

Embrace It

Technology has impacted the legal field for at least the last 20 years. The speed of its impact is only going to increase. Both in terms of jobs available and the in-depth analysis that is available now, that would have taken a human many, many hours to absorb and understand.

I am of the persuasion that we should not fight technology advances. While the ATM did cause a shift in the banking employment industry, I much prefer going to an ATM to get cash than standing in line in front of a teller. Restaurants, too, were impacted by the pandemic and the push towards drive-thru and delivery versus customers dining inside. They had to adjust their business model. So, too, will lawyers.

We need to embrace it, we need to understand it, and we need to learn to use it rather than creating roadblocks to try to preserve what has gone before.

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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.

In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.

For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.

Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach Bigstock

Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:

• How did I learn about this job?
• How did I apply for the job?
• Did I earn an interview?
• What was the ultimate result?

A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:

Negative Trends

You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.

The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.

One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.

The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.

This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.

Positive Trends

You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.

The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.

The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.

Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.

The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.

Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention Bigstock

Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.

Let's start with resumes!

Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.

The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.

Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.

While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.

As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.

If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.

Build Your Personal Brand

Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.

Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"

Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.

By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.

You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.

Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search Bigstock

Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.

There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:

• Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
• Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
• Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!

Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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