It's important for law firm administrators to have benchmarks and perspective as they determine how and where to innovate. A recent report by Ari Kaplan Advisors and Opus 2 sheds light on how top firms are using technology.
Many of the firms surveyed said they now realize that simply adopting and using technology is no longer sufficient to maintain a competitive edge when faced with the speed of innovation and increasing complexity of litigation. For example, while 70% of the survey participants use a dedicated case management system designed specifically for litigation, two-thirds of those respondents believe it’s time for them to upgrade, with many citing a diminishing competitive edge as a factor.
Rising Data Volumes and Caseloads
The report shows not only how data volumes and caseloads are increasing, but also how this change could impact the profitability of growing litigation teams.
The median number of cases the respondents manage in an average year is 200, and 83% expect their portfolio to grow in the next 12 to 18 months. But growth may be threatened by the increasing amount of time required to sift through data: 93% reported that the volume of data they manage for an average dispute is increasing, and nearly 60% say the continued growth of data volumes is a concern. At the same time, half of the participants say the number of documents, records or exhibits they use at trial remains the same, meaning that teams must dedicate more time to managing data to achieve the same results.
Litigation teams must have the right technology and resources in place to maintain momentum. As one participant noted, “Our technology can scale effectively, but the growth does present resource challenges.” In addition, it’s not just the growth in data, but the increase in diverse data sources that concerns leaders. “Growth does not scare me, but the continued introduction of new data types will likely become burdensome,” another participant said.
