When Bad Data Hurts Good Cases: A Wake-up Call for Trial Teams

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Data strategy has transformed from a strategic edge to a fundamental professional duty for civil plaintiff trial teams, requiring a deep understanding of data quality, governance, and proactive bias avoidance to fulfill ethical obligations. The rapid evolution of predictive legal technology demands attorneys develop new competencies to prevent strategic missteps and potential malpractice while pursuing justice for their clients.

• The "data deluge" has created both opportunities and risks as digital evidence becomes increasingly complex and voluminous
• Predictive legal technology now impacts case valuation, jury selection, settlement strategy, and witness preparation
• Locally-specific data is essential - national averages are virtually useless for predicting outcomes in specific jurisdictions
• AI hallucinations and fabricated information present significant risks requiring rigorous human verification
• Attorney ethical obligations now include technology competence, vendor management, and data governance
• Data must be hyperlocal, including courthouse-level judicial behavior data and county-specific jury pool characteristics
• Implementing data governance requires executive sponsorship, cross-functional teams, and phased implementation
• Technical security measures like multi-factor authentication and encryption are essential for protecting client data
• Confidential client data must never be used to train external generic AI models to protect attorney-client privilege

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@JuryAnalyst