Law firms today possess access to a wider and deeper collection of technological tools than any prior generation. Within this “golden age of legal technology,”1 one of the most impactful innovations has been the development of tools designed specifically to streamline litigation.
Below, we’ll walk through some of the most commonly used litigation technologies. We’ll explain the advantages they can provide and how to take advantage of them with a smooth implementation. We’ll also look at some of the potential downsides—and how to avoid them.
Key Types of Litigation Technology
Litigation technology has revolutionized legal work by enhancing the accessibility of digital evidence, streamlining document review, and streamlining research. Technically, any technological tool or service a legal professional or law firm uses for litigation could be considered a piece of litigation technology. However, the software we’re focusing on here comprises tools custom-built for (and often by) lawyers for litigation-specific functions.
Here are some of the most impactful litigation technologies presently available.
eDiscovery Tools
Electronic discovery (eDiscovery) tools facilitate all elements of the discovery process for legal professionals and their clientele. The volume and diversity of information and data sources can make discovery a long and complex process, and e-discovery tools make it easier for all parties.
To combat these common eDiscovery challenges, eDiscovery platforms offer things like:
- Technology-assisted review (TAR) for electronically stored information (ESI)
- Streamlined file conversion and optimization across formats and systems
- Query and report functions to quickly find key information
Document Automation and Management
Document management platforms are offered both as functions within other tools listed here or as standalone solutions. All litigation requires managing a wide array of highly sensitive and critical documents. They need to be stored and operationalized in ways that protect clients’ and other stakeholders’ privacy while also making access readily and easily available to those who need it for legal or operational reasons.
A powerful document depository does exactly that, maintaining access and uptime alongside complying with key data privacy and cybersecurity regulations, such as SOC 2 and HIPAA.
Trial Presentation Software
Litigation technology also includes tools and platforms that facilitate and supercharge legal professionals’ performance during trials. These wide-ranging trial presentation tools and software help ensure that any given argument is being presented in the best light possible. Visual aid preparation and optimization make for clear, professional demonstrations in court and in virtual or hybrid hearings.
Another key to look for is in-court support. Trial services vendors offer support to manage and run trial presentation (and other) software effectively while in court so you can focus on presenting your arguments
Managing and facilitating trial presentation technology is a pillar of U.S. Legal Support’s trial services.
Case Management Software
These are typically suites of software that allow you to easily streamline your case management. These softwares typically include:
- Case organization
- Time tracking
- Legal calendaring
- Billing and invoicing automation
- Document management and automation
Benefits of Using Litigation Technology
Legal tech offers significant benefits on an individual level by enabling an attorney to streamline their workflow and enhance efficiencies. This increased efficiency then positively impacts the whole firm, by allowing for better collaboration and streamlined processes between teams.2
On a practical level, some of the benefits you can expect from litigation software include the following.
Increased Efficiency and Productivity
The most obvious and arguably the biggest benefit of litigation technology is the lift it provides, automating and otherwise facilitating tasks both directly and tangentially related to litigation.
Implementing litigation tools allows legal professionals and law firms to:
- Streamline customer service and outreach with chatbots.
- Automate rote tasks like document gathering and sorting.
- Summarize and identify patterns across documents swiftly.
- Scan for key information, such as ambiguous contract language.
Collectively, benefits like these amount to less time spent on lower-leverage tasks, which in turn means more bandwidth to devote to the most critical parts of your most cases.
Improved Accuracy and Consistency
Litigation technology isn’t just about speed and quantity of functions. It can also improve upon quality, giving legal professionals and law firms greater assurance that documents and files are completely accurate, formatted impeccably, and easily accessible to all parties who need them.
Litigation technology can scan for specific errors or inconsistencies that jam up litigation processes. For example, issues with date or location information could jeopardize a case’s standing due to a given court’s jurisdiction, statute of limitations, or other logistics.
Double-checking humans’ handiwork minimizes the likelihood and impact of clerical errors.
Enhanced Collaboration and Communication
Last but certainly not least, litigation tools foster better communication and collaboration across a law firm. On one level, many platforms have integrated comms tools so that teams can chat while working on documents together. Additionally, application program interfaces (APIs) allow you to seamlessly integrate with other platforms you’re already using.
These kinds of connections aren’t limited to internal communications, either. As noted above, firms that adopt litigation support tools boost their ability to work with and support partners within the legal profession. The same goes for strategic partners in other industries, as well as clients and other stakeholders who are given additional easy methods of contact and outreach.
Implementing Litigation Technology in Your Practice
Implementing litigation technology carefully will help you maximize the benefits listed above while steering clear of the potential pitfalls we’ll address below. As you compare and select tools, keep the realities of implementation and long-term maintenance in mind. And don’t hesitate to ask potential vendors about the support they’ll provide, such as free trial periods.
Every implementation will differ, but the general process should look like this:
- Scoping out the challenges in your current litigation procedures
- Identifying existing tech that could be replaced or supplemented
- Communicating with staff and clientele to gauge and generate interest
- Installing tools and transferring processes and information over to them
- Monitoring performance continuously and making adjustments as necessary
Throughout all these stages, it’s essential to maintain awareness across your staff.
Training and Supporting Impacted Stakeholders
The importance of training cannot be overstated when it comes to implementing litigation (or any) technology at a law firm. As we’ll get into below, reluctance and/or inability to work with new technologies is a major impediment to successful integration.
Before tools are installed or brought online, all staff who will come in contact with them need to be educated about how and why to use them effectively. Consider mandating targeted readings and holding training sessions, ideally with hands-on activities and/or a skill assessment. Moving forward, incorporate training for the new technology into standard onboarding processes.
Challenges and Considerations of Litigation Technology
The legal profession has been slow to adopt technology in general and legal technology specifically.3 This is due in part to the difficulties associated with implementing any new or emerging technology, especially high-leverage tools.
Here are some of the biggest challenges and how to deal with them.
Integration with Existing Systems
On one level, implementing technology requires some combination of configuring it to work with existing systems. Even if new tools are set to replace them, legacy databases and other programs need to at least talk to new systems momentarily to create a smooth transition.
Integration issues are not just about software connectivity and APIs, however.
Other major hurdles to consider have to do with the end users connected to the systems you’re integrating new technology into, as well as overarching contextual concerns. Lawyers’ resistance to change, gaps in their skills, and budget constraints can all make implementation difficult.4
Privacy and Ethical Considerations
The most advanced litigation technologies typically utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). These tools come with their own unique concerns beyond the ones noted above:
- When used carelessly, AI has the potential to create errors or inaccuracies.
- ML tools are trained on vast datasets that could potentially compromise privacy.
- Clients need to be made aware of the ways and extent to which AI and ML are used.
The Future of Litigation Technology
Looking ahead, technological innovation in the legal profession shows no signs of slowing down. The firms and professionals best prepared to thrive in the future will be those that use the best available technology for litigation and all other legal processes.
Sources:
- Law.com. We’re Entering the Golden Age of Legal Technology. https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2024/04/15/were-entering-the-golden-age-of-legal-technology/?slreturn=20240720140426
- Law Society. Rising tide: why one law firm’s adoption of tech benefits the entire legal industry. https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/business-management/partner-content/rising-tide-why-one-law-firms-adoption-of-tech-benefits-the-entire-legal-industry
- ABA Journal. Why are many firms still reluctant to implement legal technology?. https://www.abajournal.com/advertising/article/why-are-many-firms-still-reluctant-to-implement-legal-technology
- Corporate Counsel Business Journal (CCBJ). Navigating the Future: Overcoming Challenges in Legal Tech Training and Adoption. https://ccbjournal.com/articles/navigating-the-future-overcoming-challenges-in-legal-tech-training-and-adoption
- JD Supra. The Challenges of Integrating AI-Generated Evidence Into the Legal System. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-challenges-of-integrating-ai-2505385/
