by Frank Long
Science hasn’t yet enabled us to look clearly into the future but, through the magic of digital analytics, science does equip us to look closely and deeply at the past. This allows us to draw conclusions about what is likely to happen in the future and, in the legal profession, the ability to forecast outcomes is distinctly advantageous to all: clients, lawyers, law firms, everyone.
It’s little surprise, then, that legal analytics has captured the spotlight in conversations throughout the legal profession. Legal analytics involves the analysis of extensive legal datasets to uncover valuable insights.1 The mystique around legal analytics is created by the insights it delivers. Insights that range from predicting case outcomes and understanding judicial and opposing counsel behaviors, to identifying trends in legal disputes and assessing the effectiveness of specific legal strategies. The power of these insights can be used in the courtroom to steer legal maneuvering or in a law firm’s boardroom to guide business decisions.
However they are applied, law firms that harness legal analytics tools and platforms can use them to make informed, data-driven decisions. This is a competitive advantage that has great appeal throughout the legal community—confirmed by the increasing rates at which law firms are adopting legal analytics. It’s a kind of magic that makes lawyers more agile, elevating client satisfaction and enabling law firms to run more efficiently.
WHO USES LEGAL ANALYTICS? According to a study conducted by ALM Intelligence, more than 70% of law firms comprising fifty or more attorneys use legal analytics in various capacities.2 However, the reach of legal analytics extends beyond law firms themselves. In-house legal teams are progressively turning to analytics to enhance the efficiency of legal expenditures, mitigate risks, and streamline operational processes.
This trend is reflected in a report by Bloomberg Law, in which a survey of legal operations directors revealed that for nearly 60% of corporate counsel offices, data analytics ranks as a medium or high priority.3 That figure highlights a broader industry awakening to the advantages of data-driven approaches, marking a shift towards a new norm in legal practice.
CHANGING THE SHAPE OF LAWYERS The success of legal analytics, and data analytics in general, has triggered a sweeping overhaul across industries—from the way medical images are interpreted to how retailers target customers—and everything in between. The seismic jolt of analytics currently is reshaping the way legal professionals work, helping to drive an increase in the multidisciplinary talent’s lawyers are taking on to change their skill sets from an “I” to a “T.”4
Here’s what that means: “I” shaped lawyers who once only provided deep legal knowledge (signified by the long vertical shape of the “I”) are now fusing deep legal knowledge with a wider scope of non-traditional skills (signified by the crossbar at the top of the “T”). In practice, that could mean a lawyer develops technology or business-related skills, such as data analysis and business acumen, then combines them with soft skills like cross-collaboration or project management. This alchemy yields a new breed of lawyer whose competencies make for a better innovator and problem solver—a type of lawyer, for example, who can capably formulate trial strategy and business strategy.
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS CHANGES HOW LAWYERING IS DONE The popularity of legal analytics speaks for itself. Recent statistics show that 56% of law firms are using legal analytics to determine case strategy.5 The term “legal analytics” denotes a big tent of technologies designed to evaluate everything from expert witnesses, law firm and attorney performance, court and judge history, and beyond.
Under that big tent is another type of process known as “predictive analytics.” Predictive analytics has a narrower scope that calls on historical data and case precedents to forecast likely outcomes of legal disputes. Predictive analytics is not a crystal ball, but lawyers may use predictive analytics to study patterns and trends from past cases, helping them advise clients with greater accuracy and more effective litigation strategies. As a practical matter, lawyers can use predictive analytics to answer consequential questions such as: whether to litigate a case, how likely a motion is to prevail, or what legal fees to charge for a particular case. Predictive analytics may also enhance a lawyer’s “human touch” by helping to set and manage client expectations; both of which help build trust.
ANALYTICS CREATE HAPPIER CLIENTS What clients think and say about a law firm and the results it achieves matters, which is why law firms are using data analytics to evaluate feedback. Information about client preferences, behaviors, and satisfaction levels are among the data points law firms scrutinize to strengthen their position with clients. This objective data can be used to guide decisions about whether to course-correct their services or simply provide more of what clients already value.
Data analytics applications also can improve customer satisfaction by making complex information easier to understand. Analytics engines can convert voluminous and confusing information associated with a matter into layperson-friendly visual formats that are more accessible. Clients who once may have puzzled over written reports can now quickly assess data presented as heat maps, interactive dashboards, or a kaleidoscope of charts and graphs. This helps firms truly tailor their services to the client, especially when combined with insights about response times, case outcomes, and communication history. The better the ability to meet expectations, the higher the rate of customer satisfaction. By this measure, analytics can help foster a law firm’s organic growth by creating satisfied clients and potential referrals those clients may make.
ABRACADABRA! IT’S OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY Inefficiency is kryptonite for any business. Bottlenecks, duplicated efforts, and process breakdowns can all corrode efficiency, but law firms can use analytics to troubleshoot these breakdowns. It’s worth remembering that the data and analytics a law firm can use for this purpose aren’t limited to the law firm’s own data. Firms should seek and leverage analytics and reports from their third-party vendors to gauge performance and ensure accountability.
For example, a quarterly review of data metrics and insights into law firm staff productivity, electronic court document filing performance, and service of process success rates can identify areas where the firm may be losing money. Reporting on these functions can eliminate overspending by assuring service levels match the urgency and scope of work required.
NOW YOU SEE IT . . . As the primary consumers of litigation support services, law firms should insist on regular reporting to provide a window on the services they pay for. Good reporting should allow a law firm access to its account data on-demand and run reports in real time to examine performance and spending. The reporting itself should cover factors such as case fees, invoice payments, order summaries, and order fees, as well as service fees and court fees. All these insights, in addition to a monthly order summary, are key for monitoring and managing work. Optimally, the reports should be delivered in a variety of formats (e.g., PDF, HTML, CSV, and Data Feed) that can be shared across the firm. At the end of the day, this information cultivates greater accountability for a law firm’s own teams and its vendors.
A CAUTIONARY NOTE While legal analytics offers immense potential, it’s not without challenges. Privacy concerns, data quality, and the need for skilled data professionals are among the hurdles that need to be addressed. Likewise, the dust is still settling over the role artificial intelligence (AI) will play in the legal community. Lingering questions about AI include whether AI technologies should perform certain functions that encroach on traditional tasks of lawyers or paralegals.6 And, still unanswered, is the question of what—or who—will be responsible for mistakes made by AI tools. The answers remain elusive while technology and data-driven decision-making continue to push the evolution of the legal landscape.
MORE THAN WORDS Analytics is more than a pile of letters and figures waiting to be filtered through an algorithm. The quantitative and qualitative data associated with many types of analytics is raw material that can help a law firm run efficiently and enable legal professionals to develop broader, stronger skill sets. And their use will only grow. That growth will challenge the longstanding notion that the legal profession is slow to change. Mindsets and opinions can be changed by experience, and legal analytics—even in its relatively short history—has shown itself to be a power tool that will be essential for firms to remain competitive. So, if you haven’t yet put legal analytics into action, it’s time to get started. Anything else amounts to leaving magic on the table.
ENDNOTES
Frank Long, MS, is Senior Manager, Content & Communications, at Rapid Legal. He may be reached via email: flong@rapidlegal.com. Tech Tip columns provide advice about how to incorporate technology into one’s practice.