The Future of Chat Review is Here! Discover Chat Review in Relativity with Lineal’s ChatCraft
“The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.”
― William Gibson
The quote above is from the renowned Sci-Fi author William Gibson, who is widely credited with shaping our collective concept of the internet, predicting the corporate globalization of technology, and coining the term ‘cyberspace’, which has always resonated with me. Like so many changes in technology, the economy, or life, change begins locally, in small innovative spaces, because of unaddressed needs or underserved opportunities. Solutions to problems are often developed before many realize a particular problem exists. The future is unevenly distributed until it is our ubiquitous present.
The unique ability of Sci-Fi authors like William Gibson to succinctly communicate the realities of our changing world is what draws us to the genre. When done right, science fiction isn’t about the future at all, it is about the present and what path we take toward hypothetical future realities.
What does that have to do with chat messaging and electronic discovery? Last year, more than 6 billion Microsoft Teams chats were exchanged. In WhatsApp alone, more than 65 billion messages were sent daily. In today’s digital-centric business environment, the explosion of chat and messaging data on a growing number of collaboration platforms presents a unique set of challenges for legal professionals during the discovery process. The chat genie is out of the bottle and how we handle it now will shape our collective future. The sheer volume, increasing variety, and velocity of change require rethinking old patterns of review.
Short messages present unique challenges because of the intricacies of multimodal communication habits, increasingly conversational content, and the nature of personal and professional communications being intertwined in the same communication channel. This requires a specialized approach to review and production.
Enter Lineal’s ChatCraft, a revolutionary tool designed specifically for the Relativity platform, offers an intuitive, efficient, and comprehensive solution for collecting, reviewing, and producing chat messaging data from a large range of collaborative platforms.
Review Chat like Chat
ChatCraft was designed by legal practitioners, for legal practitioners. All features are born of actual client requests dealing with the unique challenges of collection, review, and production of messaging data from collaboration platforms to opposing parties and government agencies in high-pressure legal matters. By providing bespoke solutions for real-world problems, Lineal is uniquely addressing the challenges posed by various messaging platforms, including but not limited to Teams, Google Chat, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Slack. By integrating seamlessly with Relativity, ChatCraft enables legal teams to review chat data in a manner that respects the unique format and critical nuances of digital conversations such as reactions and emojis.
The integration of ChatCraft with Relativity revolutionizes the review process by offering a natural and coherent workflow for analyzing, tagging, and producing chat data. This seamless workflow allows legal teams to handle chat data as effortlessly as they would any other document type in Relativity, ensuring a consistent and efficient review process. Moreover, ChatCraft is one of many features of Lineal’s award-winning Amplify suite that enhances its capability by incorporating chat review into broader data review workflows and integrated advanced analytics.
Efficient and Accurate Data Handling
ChatCraft excels in breaking down chat data into manageable components for review. The tool processes chat data into distinct and flexible data types, such as:
- Full thread – entire conversations
- Daily – all messages within a 24-hour period
- Individual Messages Items – single chat messages
- Attachments – individual files sent through collaboration platforms
This granular approach, coupled with relational fields linking these components, allows for targeted searches and reviews, significantly enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of the review process. Message-by-message tagging is available for responsiveness calls and issue analysis. This not only makes review and production more efficient but allows for much easier research and recall of key information after discovery is closed and matters move toward the later phases of litigation or investigations.
Advanced Analytical Features
One of the standout features of ChatCraft is its ability to provide a detailed analysis of chat history through timelines and trends. This capability enables legal teams to quickly identify key conversation threads and relevant data points, streamlining the identification of pertinent information. Additionally, ChatCraft’s analytical tools allow for the export of relevant messages without the need to redact countless unresponsive messages, further enhancing the tool’s efficiency and utility. Moreover, Lineal’s Amplify suite allows for budget reporting and holistic lifecycle costs of messaging data from collection through production, use in briefs or at trial, and eventual archive.
Legal and Ethical Obligations
The legal and ethical obligations of competency in the context of technology are fundamental aspects that govern the modern practice of law. As technology continues to reshape how legal work is conducted, especially in discovery, legal professionals are under increasing pressure to maintain a proficient understanding of relevant technologies. The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, particularly Rule 1.1 on Competence, which includes Comment 8 emphasizing the lawyer’s duty to be informed about changes in the law and its practice, “including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology”, encapsulate this duty. The ‘cutting edge’ technologies of today will be table-stakes technology tomorrow. There are few areas in discovery evolving as rapidly as the messaging data created in collaboration platforms.
Customizable to Meet Specific Needs
By design, ChatCraft has been created for flexibility. As collaboration platforms change and new ones arise, as production formats evolve and we recognize that no two legal cases are the same, ChatCraft offers extensive customization options to meet the specific needs of each review. The tool’s flexible configuration allows legal teams to tailor the review process to the unique requirements of their case, ensuring that the review is as effective and efficient as possible.
Conclusion
Lineal’s ChatCraft represents a significant advancement in the review and production of chat and messaging data within the Relativity platform. By offering an intuitive, efficient, and comprehensive solution, ChatCraft addresses the unique challenges posed by chat data, streamlining the review process, enhancing accuracy, and ensuring budgetary viability. As the legal industry continues to grapple with the increasing volume and complexity of digital communication, tools like ChatCraft are essential for legal professionals seeking to navigate this landscape effectively. With ChatCraft, Lineal reaffirms its commitment to innovation and excellence in legal technology, providing legal teams with the tools they need to succeed in the present and future digital age.
The future is already here. Don’t miss it.
About the Author
Brian Stempel is a law practice technology executive and thought leader with over 30 years of experience in delivering innovative solutions and services to the legal industry. He is the Senior Vice President of Strategic Client Solutions at Lineal where he helps clients solve legal challenges with Lineal’s award-winning Amplify platform. Before Lineal, Brian ran eDiscovery operations at Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Hastings, and Debevoise & Plimpton. A life-long learner he also holds executive education certificates from Cornell University, MIT Sloan School of Management, Columbia Business School, and Harvard Business School in various fields related to artificial intelligence, innovation, DEI, and leadership.
About Lineal
Lineal is an innovative eDiscovery and legal technology solutions company that empowers law firms and corporations with modern data management and review strategies. Established in 2009, Lineal specializes in comprehensive eDiscovery services, leveraging its proprietary technology suite, Amplify, to enhance efficiency and accuracy in handling large volumes of electronic data. With a global presence and a team of experienced professionals, Lineal is dedicated to delivering custom-tailored solutions that drive optimal legal outcomes for its clients. For more information, visit lineal.com