Like many, I attended LegalTech Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, enjoyed catching up with old friends, and seeing new, emerging technologies. Did you see the car forensics kit being offered by Berla? Wow, that was pretty cool and something I am definitely going to keep an eye on. One of the things I always enjoy is the post-LegalTech articles. Everyone talking about what they saw, what caught their eye, and where they think the legal technology world is heading. I was really looking this year for anything IoT related, especially with Alexa in the news recently as an eye-witness to a murder. There’s also the Pacemaker that recently provided critical evidence in an arson investigation and FitBits are becoming notorious for impugning eye-witness accounts. Our devices aren’t only spying on us, they’ve turned state’s evidence!
I was a little disappointed that I didn’t see more IoT technologies at LegalTech, but some of the articles that came out afterwards certainly caught my attention. Many were talking about IoT data and how difficult and expensive it is to get, use, and turn into legal arguments. This surprised me. We (iDS) just finished up a case where we had IoT data, alongside more traditional structured data, and we were able to turn it around for a very little amount of effort and cost. By that I mean under two months from initial engagement to Plaintiffs’ voluntarily walking away from the case, and at a tiny fraction of the potential exposure to our client. We were lucky that the data in that case was in our client’s favor, but regardless, isn’t it better to know the answer up front and negotiate from a position of knowledge, rather than ignorance?
With the right tools, the right team and the right strategy, IoT data can be leveraged for much less than many attorneys assume. Yes, it’s new. Yes, it’s obscure. Yes, it’s daunting to those who haven’t worked with it. But it’s not cost-prohibitive if done right, and it can literally make the difference between long drawn out litigation with murky, untrusted facts, or a quick and clean settlement based on a clear and concise factual record.
Published February 21, 2017.
