Information Connection, 1219 WYBJ, Vol. 42 No. 7. 46

• Author: Tawnya Plumb Associate Law Librarian George W. Hopper Law Library
• Position: Vol. 42 7 Pg. 46

Information Connection

Vol. 42 No. 7 Pg. 46

Wyoming Bar Journal

December, 2019

Using Litigation Analytics in Your Practice: Litigation Analytics 101

Tawnya Plumb Associate Law Librarian George W. Hopper Law Library

Legal research vendors advertise products that incorporate big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, but what does this mean? Simply put, machine learning software, a type of artificial intelligence (AI), runs algorithms on collected data and provides search results to predict future outcomes. To create the litigation analytics products described in this column, vendors run their algorithms on data pulled from PACER and other court docketing systems and make this information retrievable by a quick search.

Vendors collect data on motions, attorneys, law firms, judges, case types, and courts. A researcher may restrict a search to one of these headings or search within all results. Results frequently appear in eye-pleasing and interactive visual graphs and charts. Each product also offers its own way to filter results. Using this process, researchers can determine, by percentage, how often a particular motion (a motion to dismiss or summary judgement for instance) is...