E-Discovery’s Evolution: Embracing Generative AI
The legal profession has often been cautious about adopting new technologies. However, e-discovery software quickly became an exception, largely because Congress amended Rule 26(f) to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, mandating its implementation. This early embrace of technology marked a significant shift, and e-discovery became one of the first areas where legal professionals actively used modern tools.
Initially, this software was groundbreaking, offering legal professionals the ability to sort through and categorize large amounts of data for litigation. But advancements were relatively slow until recently. Now, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the field.
In late 2022, public access to generative AI tools set the stage for a new wave of innovation in discovery software. Since then, numerous companies have integrated this technology into their products. The integration of generative AI features is streamlining various e-discovery processes, enhancing the identification, collection, preservation, processing, review, and analysis of electronic documents. The software is also capable of analyzing massive datasets, identifying patterns, and revealing insights overlooked during manual reviews. Some platforms even include AI-powered search functions to facilitate more accurate keyword searches, tagging, and redaction.
Choosing the Right Generative AI E-Discovery Software:
If your law firm is evaluating generative AI for e-discovery, the process begins with an assessment of the firm’s needs and how the new tools would integrate into the existing litigation workflow. Firms should consider:
- Identifying the biggest challenges in managing electronic information.
- Determining which tasks consume the most time.
- Assessing how generative AI can streamline processes through the automation of document review, categorization, or privilege identification.
Next, evaluate your existing tools. Do they include generative AI, or are they planning to introduce it? Are integrations available to get desired functionality? If your current providers leverage AI, it may be more efficient to adopt those updates. Trusted vendors should be prioritized before new vendors. Leveraging existing tools with AI enhancements can minimize disruption, reduce onboarding time, and ensure consistency in your firm’s workflows.
Ethical Considerations for E-Discovery Providers:
When using cloud-based e-discovery tools, you entrust a third party with sensitive client data. Ethical obligations require thorough provider vetting. Review data security measures, storage locations, access controls, and backup policies to ensure compliance with professional responsibilities. For AI-enhanced platforms, understand the accuracy of AI-generated outputs, how the provider secures user data, and whether queries will contribute to training AI models. Take advantage of free trials or demos to test usability and determine whether a platform fits your firm’s needs.
Key E-Discovery Tools with Generative AI:
Several tools are leading the way in AI integration:
- Reveal: Offers “Ask,” an AI search tool for natural language queries, verifiable insights and streamlined document review.
- Relativity: Provides “Relativity aiR,” a suite of AI tools designed to enhance review, create case summaries, and accelerate privilege review.
- DISCO: Uses “Cecilia” to translate, summarize, interrogate evidence, and automate document review.
- Everlaw: Features the “EverlawAI Assistant,” which integrates with Everlaw to expedite document review and surface information to assist in crafting arguments.
- Exterro: Offers “Exterro Assist” to query the system using natural language, automate workflows, and summarize documents.
- Lexbe: Offers “CoPilot” to summarize and extract key details, improving review efficiency.
- HaystackID: Automates e-discovery tasks, such as data classification and document summarization with “Core Intelligence AI.”
- eDiscovery Assistant: Integrates generative AI technology for caselaw summaries.
The Future of E-Discovery:
E-discovery, the initial driver of digital workflows in the legal field, is now pioneering advancements in AI. Prioritizing generative AI development is giving e-discovery practitioners greater options than ever before. As technology improves, deeper integration will improve efficiencies and bring new capabilities. AI innovations are offering legal teams more effective tools to streamline document review, enhance predictive analysis, and identify insights that might otherwise be missed. This continued evolution of AI reinforces e-discovery’s role as a key legal innovator.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York-based attorney, author and journalist, and she is the principal legal insight strategist at MyCase, a company that offers legal practice management software for small firms. She is the nationally recognized author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers and is co-author of Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier, both published by the American Bar Association. She writes regular columns for ABAJournal.com and Above the Law, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @nikiblack, or she can be reached at [email protected]. This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Association.
