Can law firms rely on software rather than lawyers to review huge volumes of documents in discovery? In Concept Searching in Discovery I wrote that this is an empirical question.
Now, a well-known litigator has gone on record saying the answer is yes. Fred Bartlit of Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott
“says that his firm has run blind tests pitting document discovery software against a document review team of lawyers, and the software performed as well or better than its human counterpart. Bartlit concedes the system may not be perfect — but then neither are associates, and they cost a hell of a lot more.”
Reported in The Billable Hour: Are Its Days Numbered? on law.com.