Global Predictive Coding: Gold, Silver & Bronze
This week, athletes from around the globe will gather in Rio to compete for gold medals and present years of hard work and dedication. With the Games as a backdrop, there is no better time than to explore our own global phenomenon in ediscovery – predictive coding technology.
Recently, Kroll Ontrack’s Michele Lange and Tracy Stretton co-authored an article for Bloomberg BNA’s Digital Discovery & e-Evidence in which they discussed the way predictive coding is taking the globe by storm.
A Global Predictive Coding Case Law Primer
Taking the gold medal for the first predictive coding judicial opinion, several years ago American courts approved the use of predictive coding technology in discovery, making it widely recognized and respected. In March 2015, Ireland earned the silver medal with its approval of the use of predictive coding in the discovery process in Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Ltd. & Ors v. Quinn & Ors. In February 2016, Master Matthews helped Britain win the bronze when he issued the first British opinion, known as Pyrrho Investments Ltd. v. MWB Property Ltd., which approved the use of predictive coding in High Court proceedings, partly relying on Magistrate Judge Peck’s opinion in Da Silva Moore v. Publicis Groupe. Even more recently in May 2016, Britain had its first contested case regarding predictive coding, David Brown v. BCA Trading. These opinions are just the start of what we will see on the issue of predictive coding in years to come. Case law will continue to develop as many of the same concerns are being raised globally.
What’s Next on the Horizon?
As discussed by Lange and Stretton in their article, in the U.S. and U.K., judges will continue to interpret the nuances of parties’ predictive coding practices and it will not be long until other European and Asian countries formally join the predictive coding games. In the meantime, technology is evolving so legal professionals must stay vigilant to meet the expectations of demanding international clients when producing electronic documents in global litigations or investigations.