Are you interested in the law and working with big data? The demand for paralegals is growing, even with the introduction of predictive analytics into the legal industry. A paralegal’s job is demanding, and predictive analytics only helps the paralegal do and manage more. This makes them even more valuable in the legal industry.
One crucial challenge facing the legal industry is the vast amount of data generated on a daily basis. This is true for many areas of the legal industry including legal research, answering initial questions about litigation, assisting with discovery, outlining a strategy, or performing a multitude of other tasks that paralegals and legal assistants perform every day. How can the average paralegal or legal assistant extract useful insight from all this data? Can predictive analytics help the legal team decide whether to litigate a case or settle? Not only will legal predictive analytics tell a legal team what the win-rate of outside attorneys is, but it will shed light on what forms and motions they used to win the case. Is this attorney unbeatable or do they just have a good work ethic?
Predictive analytics is a discipline that has grown alongside the exponential growth of data in the digital world. Now the legal industry is making use of this type of analysis to improve overall efficiency and accuracy. Software comes with language-based technologies that easily scan, read, and synthesize written documents. With these documents, predictive analytics can use statistical techniques to glean future events from data mining, predictive modeling and machine learning. With this capability, predictive analytics is making an impact in the legal industry and answering many questions that legal teams need answers to.
What are the Different Legal Predictive Analytics Techniques?
Data Mining – the discovery of patterns, abnormalities and correlations in large amounts of data to generate new legal strategies and predict case outcomes.
Predictive Modeling – the use of statistics to predict outcomes. Predictors are identified that are to influence future case law or legal judgements.
Machine Learning – uses statistical techniques to teach computer systems with data. Information is gleaned from these statistics rather than programmed.
Easier Access to Accurate Research and Data
Millions of legal documents are being added to digital repositories every day, and the platforms are designed to process this digital data at very high speeds. In addition, the data must be enriched in order to extract additional relevant insights. Document meta-data enrichment and advanced data parsing technology takes raw data and transforms it into insights relevant to legal questions. By understanding this process, paralegals and legal assistants can perform even more accurate, efficient research in support of legal strategies.
The Power of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
While still new to the legal industry, machine learning, and AI are making a considerable impact on the legal industry. AI is technology that enables a machine to carry out tasks associated with human decision making. Machine learning is a subset of this technology. It enables the machine to process large quantities of data and learn from that data, essentially becoming smarter over time.
Empowering Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Rather than replacing paralegals and legal assistants, this technology will empower them to be even greater support to attorneys. Robot lawyers will not exist, nor will robot paralegals. However, the predictive analytic technology will perform the repetitive, tedious tasks necessary for thoroughly preparing for legal matters. It will also answer many lingering questions that a legal team may have at the beginning of a case. For example, how much in fees should the legal team charge the client? It will not replace the subtle, sophisticated judgment necessary for the administration of justice.
What types of statistical techniques are used in predictive analysis? The legal industry is using a variety of models including regression analytics, time series modeling, and graph analysis modeling.
Regression Analytics – which is a statistical technique to estimate the relationships between and among variables. These may include dependent and independent variables. This is especially important in establishing a causal relationship between such things as a defendant’s alleged offense and determining the plaintiff’s damages.
Time Series Modeling – which indexes a series of data points in chronological order. Typically, the data points will be spaced equally to predict cycles or patterns. One application area is financial lending law.
Graph Analytics – which is also known as network analysis, is being adopted to help identify financial crimes, detecting fraud, and conducting research.
Legal Predictive Analytics
Data analytics is providing real value and utility to the legal industry by enabling users to make better decisions in a variety of legal areas such as copyright, trademark law, antitrust, securities, and other types of litigation.
Data analytics empowers innovative legal insights through mining data sets built out of case opinions, legislation, docket data, and other areas. The insights promise to improve conclusions drawn by legal counsel, judges, and other stakeholders in the legal industry.
This is an exciting time for paralegals and legal assistants. Predictive analytics will empower them to be highly indispensable members of any legal team.
Did learning about predictive analytics and the legal industry interest you? Ready to become part of a legal team as a paralegal or legal assistant? The Gwinnett College diploma and degree programs in paralegal studies provides students with the theoretical and practical knowledge and the legal skills necessary to perform many paralegal functions including research, writing, investigation, and interviewing. Paralegal studies students gain knowledge of the paralegal and legal assistant’s role in areas such as tort law, litigation, criminal law, civil law, real estate, bankruptcy, wills/trusts & estates, and domestic relations. Theoretical and practical knowledge of how a traditional legal office operates on a day-to-day basis is also included as part of the training.
Contact us today to learn more about becoming a paralegal or legal assistant.