Technological advancements are significantly influencing the legal services landscape. At unprecedented rates, corporations, law firms, and state and federal enforcement agencies are accepting and adopting the use of advanced technology in legal matters, including automation, machine learning, and algorithm-driven data analytics. With respect to discovery, over the past decade, the expansion of technology-assisted review has been well documented and debated. The wide embrace of technology-assisted review – or "TAR" for short, has met with acclaim from clients and their counsel. It is essentially undisputed by now, for instance, that TAR has proven to help produce quality results, while also achieving quantifiable cost savings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become so pervasive in our society today that it is difficult to imagine what we would not use it for. Certainly it would be useful in the legal industry in relation to e-discovery and while the law is not fully at that point yet, pundits indicate they could likely expect to see it being used within the next three years. E-discovery is a mobile and fast-moving target when powered by AI – defined as "technologies that can mimic and enhance human thought processes and capabilities," says senior counsel and co-chair of the E-Discovery & Information Management Group, John Davis with Crowell & Moring. The point of AI, of course, is to automate manual tasks, a bonus that would likely be most welcome when it comes to the discovery process. The massive amount of material that can be generated by discovery could do with a major tweak to expedite the process.