80% of law firm professionals believe AI-driven eDiscovery technology can help their firm improve operational efficiency

Survey also shows 73% aim to use technology to be more competitive

TEMPE, Ariz., April 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IPRO, an industry-leading eDiscovery and data governance technology solutions company, announced today the results of a survey of law firm professionals conducted jointly with the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS).

The survey reveals that a stunning 80% of law firm professionals believe AI-driven eDiscovery technology can help their firm improve operational efficiency, lower costs and reduce the time it takes to conduct document inquiries. Notably, the survey was conducted in December – just as the implications of the breakthroughs in Open AI's ChatGPT model were becoming clear.

The survey of 182 legal professionals also examined the eDiscovery AI capabilities law firm professionals are using most often to respond to an inquiry or litigation in 2022 and found 60% of respondents regularly used Technology Assisted Review in the process.

"The results of this survey show that law firms have already been using various forms of AI to conduct eDiscovery and are comfortable embracing it more in the near future," said IPRO COO Sarai Schubert. "They are doing this because they see the advantages the technology provides. It allows the lawyers to spend more time on complex legal issues while also improving efficiency, saving money and, perhaps, even creating a competitive advantage."

More broadly, IPRO's survey of lawyers, litigation support professionals, eDiscovery professionals and others at law firms also underscores the desire across law firms to deploy new technology to improve the eDiscovery process. At the same time, 50% of law firm professionals said they are currently either neutral or unhappy with how they apply eDiscovery technology or believe there's room for improvement in relation to how law firms leverage eDiscovery technology.

The survey of legal professionals was conducted in tandem with a survey of in-house legal professionals released earlier this year. That survey revealed budget constraints are expected to be the biggest challenge for legal professionals in 2023.

"ACEDS is thrilled to once again partner with IPRO on this important survey," said Mike Quartararo, president of ACEDS. "We've been working with IPRO for many years to deliver valuable and actionable insights to our members and the legal community in general, and these survey results illuminate the trends and activities that law firm professionals are focused on that are driving process improvements and innovation throughout the industry."

Here is a summary of additional findings:

• 69% of surveyed law firm professionals said they use AI-powered eDiscovery technology the most when conducting any form of civil litigation. 'Technology Assisted Review' and 'classification of documents' features were most widely used to respond to an inquiry or litigation last year.
• However, over 30% of surveyed respondents see potential for improvement with how their firms use AI-driven eDiscovery technology on a daily basis.
• More than 50% of survey respondents highlighted new client acquisition as the main challenge they foresee in 2023.
• 54% of survey respondents said that they tend to collect data from 3 to 5 sources on average per case.
• 47% of law firm respondents emphasized the lack of internal efficiency as the most prevailing factor to enforce the biggest challenges for them in 2023. This finding, in turn, correlates with law firms spending too much time and budget per task/case (pointed out by 40%).
• Almost 60% of law firms professionals said they are able to quickly find relevant information within their clients' datasets.

The full study can be found here.

About IPRO

IPRO is a global leader in the development of advanced eDiscovery software and information governance for law firms, corporations, governmental agencies, healthcare organizations and legal service providers. Founded in 1989 and based in Tempe, Arizona, IPRO is known for its best-in-class solutions (Live EDA, OPEN DISCOVERY, ZyLAB ONE and Legal Hold) that deliver early data assessment (EDA) as well as real-time, hold-in-place data preservation. When IPRO's products combine, there isn't a legal discovery challenge they can't handle.

To learn more visit www.ipro.com.

About ACEDS:

ACEDS is the world's leading educational organization specializing in training and certification in e-discovery, information governance, and related legal disciplines. ACEDS provides training and professional development courses to law firms, corporate legal departments, software and service providers, the government, and academic institutions. ACEDS is also a professional association with more 2500 active members who gather and network in 29 chapters formed in major U.S. cities, Canada, Ireland, the U.K., Benelux, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

To learn more visit https://aceds.org/

SOURCE IPRO