Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming litigation, offering legal teams efficient, faster, and more strategic ways to manage data and prepare for trial. But to harness this technology’s full potential, you need a strategic foundation. With increased data volumes, using AI to unlock insights early is more important than ever because AI can help ensure that you gain access to key information, documents, and facts needed to support your case strategy.
A strategic approach puts evidence at the center of your case, enabling data-driven, smart settlement decisions, stronger motion practice, and earlier trial preparation. To start with strategy, UnitedLex collaborates with you to implement AI in your litigation workflow from the outset in three essential steps:
1. Data First: Understand your dataset from Day 1.
The foundation of effective AI-assisted litigation is a well-organized dataset. We begin with forensics experts and analytics consultants to build and map your dataset in order to identify custodians, data sources, and formats early. This ensures your AI tools have a clear structure to work with and reduces any surprises later on in the process.
Next, we conduct an Early Case Assessment (ECA) and First Look that goes beyond surface-level insights. We use AI to uncover patterns, key terms, and potential risks. Most importantly, our First Look service surfaces key documents early, which are fed into downstream processes, ensuring meaningful insights. This forward-thinking ECA helps shape strategy and informs decisions about scope, relevance, and your decision to litigate or settle.
Finally, we implement Continuous Active Learning (CAL) and/or GenAI to kickstart your review. Unlike traditional linear review, these tools allow your AI to learn from reviewer decisions in real time, improving accuracy and efficiency as the review progresses. This dynamic approach ensures your AI adapts to the nuances of your case and provides meaningful impact downstream.
2. RAPID Review: Start with your relevant data.
Once your data is mapped and learning is underway, we shift to RAPID review—a targeted approach that begins with your most relevant documents. This accelerates insights and helps prioritize key evidence.
With the CAL set up, we verify and fast-track your responsive set, enabling you to move to second-level workflows more quickly. AI quickly surfaces documents that meet your criteria, allowing human reviewers to validate and refine the results. This speeds up the review process without sacrificing quality.
Throughout these processes, we iterate –our teams use AI to continuously refine your search parameters and document classifications. Each round of review becomes smarter, more focused, and more aligned with your litigation goals.
Finally, using AI to conduct production checks and finalize your data, including privilege review and logs, we can flag missing metadata, detect privilege risks, and ensure compliance with production protocols. This reduces errors and ensures your evidence is courtroom-ready and your privilege remains protected.
3. Build Your Case: Compile your evidence and prepare for trial.
AI can help you compile a Digital Fact Binder – a living evidence base for your case narrative that organizes key documents, builds timelines, and summarizes witness testimony. This centralized resource streamlines collaboration and supports strategic planning. Through the use of AI, we can start these processes on Day 1 instead of waiting for your responsive set to be reviewed and finalized. This gives you a jump start on strategic decisions, ensuring everything is evidence-backed from the start.
By using AI to assist with deposition and trial preparation, we can provide transcript summaries, identifying inconsistencies to surface relevant exhibits, and help prep your witnesses. AI tools can help attorneys build stronger arguments and anticipate opposing counsel’s moves, preparing you better from the start.
Each step of the way, we keep humans in the loop. AI is a powerful tool, but human judgment remains essential. Our legal professionals, data scientists, and project managers guide the AI, work with your teams to validate its output, and ensure ethical and strategic alignment.
By following these three steps, understanding your data, conducting a RAPID Review, and building your case for trial, you can leverage AI as a strategic asset in your litigation. The result? A more efficient process, deeper insights, and stronger outcomes.
Over the next three weeks, we’ll be diving into each of these steps in further detail. Want to learn more? Click here to subscribe to the weekly series.
