publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/355985
ILTA WHITE PAPER: JULY 2014 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 19 this information to help insurers assess their risks and price their policies intelligently. Rovner noted that even the largest law firms don't typically generate data sets large enough to produce these sorts of insights and capabilities for themselves, but believes firms can benefit from big data applications created by other companies. client/matter number — a 'digital footprint' — which is part of our DNA." This mapping allows firms to associate information a bit more easily and to ferret out context and meaning for day-to-day business needs. However, he does quantify this by saying: "Compared to other industries, the law firm world is small big data." A number of peers cited the following examples of current tools that utilize big data concepts and have correlation to KM initiatives: • Recommind's Decisiv Expertise Search: Locates or "matches" the best attorney to work on a particular case or deal • Decisiv Email Management: Automatically assesses both the content and parties involved in email messages then seamlessly categorizes and files the message in the appropriate folder • kiiac: This contract analysis tool designed by Kingsley Martin identifies how a document deviates from the firm's standards and ensures nothing critical is missing in the final draft • Manzama: A listening platform that reviews, analyzes, aggregates and filters Web information based on user profiles • Lex Machina: Mines and analyzes litigation data for patterns and provides insights to the data Other peers emphatically state that the legal profession is definitely in the midst of a big data confluence. Nola Van Hoy, Director of Practice Innovation at Alston & Bird commented: "When I hear big data and KM, what immediately comes to mind is data mapping. Any number of KM projects over the years have revolved around either indexing data silos or trying to 'marry' data from outside the organization with data inside the organization." And Oz Benamram, Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) at White & Case in New York City, espouses there is a "total correlation" between big data and KM in law firms. In fact, he states that the unique billing structure in law firms allows for a natural data linkage that few other industries have. "We are given a gift — every piece of data is associated with a KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: MINING FOR GOLD IN BIG DATA We now have the visibility into more actionable information and the opportunity to intervene — as needed — in advance of a problem.