IPRO, an industry leader in eDiscovery and data governance technology solutions, today announced the results of a survey of legal practice professionals conducted in partnership with the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS).
The survey shows that an impressive 80% of law firm professionals believe that AI-driven eDiscovery technology can help their firm improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs, and reduce the time it takes to complete document queries. Notably, the survey was conducted in December – just as the implications of breakthroughs in Open AI’s ChatGPT model were becoming apparent.
The survey of 182 legal professionals also examined the eDiscovery AI capabilities most commonly used by law firms in 2022 to respond to a query or litigation, and found that 60% of respondents regularly used technology-enabled reviews to do so.
“The results of this survey show that law firms are already using various forms of AI to conduct eDiscovery and look forward to further adoption in the near future,” said Sarai Schubert, COO of IPRO. “They do this because they see the benefits that the technology offers. It allows attorneys to spend more time on complex legal issues while increasing efficiency, saving money, and maybe even creating a competitive advantage.”
More broadly, the IPRO survey of attorneys, litigants, eDiscovery professionals, and others in law firms also underscores the desire of all law firms to adopt new technologies to improve the eDiscovery process. At the same time, 50% of law firm professionals indicated that they are currently either neutral or dissatisfied with the way they are using eDiscovery technology, or that there is room for improvement in how law firms are using eDiscovery technology.
The survey of legal professionals was conducted in conjunction with a survey of in-house legal professionals released earlier this year. This survey found that budget constraints are expected to be the biggest challenge for legal professionals in 2023.
“ACEDS is excited to once again partner with IPRO on this important survey,” said Mike Quartararo, President of ACEDS. “We have worked with IPRO for many years to provide valuable and actionable insights to our members and the legal community more generally, and these survey results shed light on the trends and activities that law firm professionals are focusing on and driving process improvements and innovation in the entire industry.”
