Litigation Analytics: An Advantage for In-House Counsel

When a contract dispute arises, in-house attorneys are often tasked with deciding whether litigation is worth the time, cost and human resources to take on the case. Often this decision is based on a combination of experience, anecdotal information and instinct, but that’s hardly an exact science. Legal analytics help in-house counsel make strategic decisions by illuminating big-picture trends and relevant cases to predict outcomes, create a plan of action, and coordinate with outside counsel or other business leaders.

A key advantage of legal analytics is the ability to quickly find and compare relevant cases. Millions of cases have been filed in federal district court in the last 10 years, so being able to quickly sort through and analyze only those cases with similar, relevant claims is extremely valuable for strategizing. Deciding whether to engage outside counsel and when are strategic decisions that can benefit from data-driven research.

No organization enters into a contract anticipating that it will fail, but litigation data used for due diligence can be extremely helpful in identifying the potential legal risk of working with a particular supplier or party even before the contract is signed. Whether you decide to negotiate a settlement based on real punitive damages awards in your district or take the case all the way to trial, legal analytics delivers data-driven insights to help in-house counsel be more competitive, make better informed decisions more quickly and report valuable information to stakeholders.