eDiscovery Daily Blog

• March 11, 2025

By Sheila Sadaghiani

I had the pleasure of attending The Masters Conference in Dallas, and the discussions were nothing short of insightful. If you’re in the legal field and haven’t attended one of these conferences yet, I highly recommend it—it’s an excellent opportunity for both education and networking. As a highlight, one of the most engaging sessions focused on how AI is transforming legal workflows and decision-making.

How Is AI Transforming Legal Workflows and Decision-Making?

AI is rapidly transforming the e-discovery field, with law firms, corporations, and e-discovery vendors expressing growing interest in incorporating AI into their workflows. Many organizations have already begun exploring AI, creating internal task forces to identify use cases and develop policies. However, adoption is cautious due to concerns about data privacy, lack of clear policies, and the potential for errors.

Despite these challenges, AI offers several promising applications in e-discovery, such as speeding up tasks, improving accuracy, organizing large datasets, and aiding in content review. Additionally, AI can assist with legal operations, generating draft responses to discovery requests, creating case timelines, and prioritizing document review.

To successfully implement AI, organizations should start by addressing specific problems, seek expert guidance, provide proper training, and carefully choose tools that align with their needs. By focusing on repeatable processes and data security, companies can adopt AI in a way that enhances efficiency while ensuring responsible use.

How AI is Enhancing E-Discovery

Despite the challenges, AI presents significant benefits in the e-discovery landscape, including:

• Increased Efficiency: AI can accelerate document review and data organization, cutting down on time and resources.
• Improved Accuracy: AI tools help reduce human errors by identifying relevant information more precisely.
• Handling Large Volumes of Data: AI can analyze vast datasets that would otherwise overwhelm human teams.
• Automated Content Review: AI can scan and analyze documents rapidly, identifying key information for legal teams.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: AI-driven insights into case patterns, trends, and timelines support more informed decision-making.

Challenges Hindering AI Adoption

Despite its advantages, many organizations remain hesitant to fully embrace AI due to:

• Lack of Clear Policies: Many organizations are still defining internal guidelines, leading to uncertainty around AI use.
• Privacy and Security Concerns: Executives worry about potential risks to sensitive data when using AI-powered tools.
• Fear of Errors: The legal industry’s reluctance to make mistakes with a relatively new technology slows adoption.
• Lack of Expertise: There is a shortage of legal professionals with the technical skills required to work effectively with AI.
• Overwhelming Options: The abundance of AI tools makes it difficult to choose the right solution.
• Concerns About Accuracy: Fear of AI generating incorrect or fabricated information (hallucinations) raises credibility concerns.

Best Practices for Adopting AI in E-Discovery

For those looking to integrate AI into their legal workflows, here are some key takeaways from the panel:

• Get Interested in AI: Begin exploring AI’s capabilities and how it can assist in legal work.
• Learn and Experiment: Engage with AI tools like ChatGPT to understand their potential impact.
• Practice Using AI: Experiment by inputting data into AI systems to see how they process and analyze information.
• Understand Data Input: The quality of AI’s output depends on the quality of the input data—better data leads to better results.
• Think of Data as Ingredients: One panelist likened AI to a chef—the better the ingredients (data), the better the dish (output).
• Use Specialized Tools: AI tools specifically trained for legal and e-discovery applications deliver more relevant and accurate results.
• Establish a Roadmap: Develop a clear strategy for AI implementation to ensure repeatable, defensible processes.

AI is here to stay, and while challenges remain, legal professionals who embrace and strategically integrate AI into their workflows will be better positioned for the future. The Masters Conference continues to be an invaluable platform for discussing these advancements, and I look forward to seeing how AI evolves in our industry.