‘How Has GenAI Changed eDiscovery?’ – AL + DISCO – Artificial Lawyer

At Artificial Lawyer we’ve explored how genAI is changing many aspects of legal tech. But what about eDiscovery? To dig into this subject AL spoke to James Park, AI Consulting Director at DISCO.

We had a great discussion during this 45 mins AL TV Special Feature and covered several key topics. If there is one overarching takeaway it’s that because of genAI the field of eDiscovery will never be the same again and has entered a new era of evolution.

To watch / listen to the discussion, please press Play, or you can also go directly to the AL TV Channel here.

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And here’s a quick taster of some of the questions we explore.

AL: Tell me a bit about your background and current role?

James Park: I am DISCO’s AI consulting director, where I’ve advised clients on everything from TAR to more currently the effective implementation and usage of GenAI, and how these tools can assist with various legal tasks like coding documents, accelerating first pass review etc.

AL: How has GenAI changed the eDiscovery landscape?

JP: In contrast with previous technologies, we’re seeing a broad variety of benefits from GenAI that are making things faster and cheaper for customers, while giving them the ability to parse through evidence/data at a much higher and more effective rate.

AL: When did the practice of eDiscovery begin?

JP: When I started my career in 2008, eDiscovery was largely a nascent technology, and it really started entering the legal fray around 2005. In the beginning, eDiscovery tools were mostly being used for things like topic clustering, and creating data heat maps.

AL: Why is it faster to use LLMs? How much will this technology really accelerate day-to-day legal work?

JP: LLMs allow users to harness AI in ways that were previously not possible. Our chatbot Cecilia is a good example of this, in that it gives lawyers the ability to understand and contextual data in ways humans can’t.

Typically, we’ll see a 1-2 week time investment up front for testing so our clients and their IT teams can familiarize themselves with the technology, understand potential use cases, work on optimizing their prompts, etc.

AL: What does optimizing prompts mean?

JP: Think about how lawyers begin to prepare for cases and legal arguments, and how they draft instructions for the review process. We combine humans and AI in legal reviews, and can get a detailed reasoning from AI and ask why it gave a specific answer – it’s really about opening up a dialogue with your data through the AI.

GenAI is starting to deliver on the promise of TAR, which was initially a huge force multiplier of human effort.

The clients I’ve spoken with who are embracing GenAI are high-level, results oriented folks, and they’re starting to understand what the hype is all about (understanding how it can drive results more quickly).

AL: Are costs still a major issue to clients? Have they started to come down?

JP: With any new technology (much like the latest version of the iPhone), people aren’t expecting the tech to be super cost effective at the outset. And of course, there are some LLM models that are cheaper than others. I think the expectation is that prices will come down sooner vs. later and we’ll see a more level playing field.

AL: Will this technology lead to a restructuring in the legal industry?

JP: It will certainly enable firms to shrink their human powered review resources, but there will still be room for a division of labor, particularly in managing AI tools.

RT: Where are we headed in the next 3-4 years?

JP: That’s the trillion dollar question. One thing we’re starting to see more of is companies creating their own policies and “AI committees” who are dedicated to driving innovation and results and ensuring the technology is used responsibly. GenAi will be much faster than TAR – essentially, whatever a lawyer is doing in the day-to-day, AI will be embedded in that work. And the rise of Agentic AI technologies shows that we’re only starting to scratch the surface.

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You can find more about DISCO here.

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Legal Innovators California conference, San Francisco, June 11 + 12

If you’re interested in the cutting edge of legal AI and innovation – and where we are all heading – then come along to Legal Innovators California, in San Francisco, June 11 and 12, where speakers from the leading law firms, inhouse teams, and tech companies will be sharing their insights and experiences as to what is really happening.

We already have an incredible roster of companies to hear from. This includes: &AI, Legora, Harvey, StructureFlow, Ivo, Flatiron Law Group, PointOne, Centari, LexisNexis, eBrevia, Legatics, Knowable, Draftwise, newcode.AI, Riskaway, Aracor, SimpleClosure and more.

Cooley, Wilson Sonsini, Baker McKenzie, Gunderson, Ropes & Grey, A&O Shearman and many other leading law firms will also be taking part. 

See you all there!

More information and tickets here.

P.S. there will also be a Legal Innovators New York conference this November 19 + 20 !  See here.