aFutureviewoFDocumentreview
Trial & litigation Section Chair : KristinA . Norse – Kynes , Markman & Felman , PA whatarethepotential implicationsofoutsourcing documentreviewtoartificial intelligence , ortoless expensivecontractattorneys ?
document review can be the most expensive , time-consuming , and tedious part of the litigation process . Those of us long enough in the tooth still remember the days of reviewing documents while sitting uncomfortably in a sweltering warehouse , rifling through stacks of banker boxes in search for that elusive “ smoking gun .” Younger attorneys are more familiar with Relativity and other document review software . But with the rising cost of legal services , clients have been clamoring for alternative means of accomplishing this task . And while many view document review as menial and simple , it can have a profound impact on a case .
One area that is rapidly developing to assist with review of a significant volume of documents is the use of artificial intelligence ( AI ). Elements of AI are already integrated into many document review programs . However , the current use of AI focuses on automating only rudimentary processes , rather than deeper analysis . Predictive coding allows
AI to learn from a human ’ s flagging of a particular document as relevant , and look for similar documents , assigning the degree of relevance by the number , type , and placement of certain key words . AI can use a human ’ s review of a small sample of documents and apply those lessons to vast productions , thus saving lawyers time — and clients money . AI is still in its infancy , but as technology continues to develop , computers will be able to perform increasingly complex tasks that require judgment and highlevel analysis with little human input .
While AI can be helpful , it does not — at least for now — dispose of the need for a review by real people who are capable of making complex judgment calls based on multiple “ soft ” factors that are not readily understood by computers . But even junior associates , who have traditionally been tasked with laborious document review , are now often billed at significant hourly rates . Some law firms have begun outsourcing large document reviews to contract attorneys or nonattorney professionals such as
SAVE THE DATE :
The Annual HCBA / ABOTA Professionalism Seminar is scheduled for June 2 . More details coming soon ! paralegals , who are billed at lower hourly rates , or even to vendors in foreign countries .
But what are the potential implications of outsourcing document review to computers , or to less expensive contract attorneys , or even non-attorneys ? For one , junior associates may no longer spend long days or weeks clicking through endless batches of documents . Instead , attorneys will be expected to be comfortable with new and emerging electronic discovery technologies , and they will be tasked with “ teaching ” AI the issues that are most important . While these outsourcing options will likely reduce the cost of discovery , they might also cause attorneys to miss out on the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the details of a case , thus potentially causing them to miss small facts that could , after all , provide that “ smoking gun .” n
Authors : Ella A . Shenhav and Michael P . Silver – Shutts & Bowen LLP
J a n - f e b 2 0 2 3 | H C b a L a W Y e R
6 3