Introduction
As we leave January behind and gear up for the rest of 2025, staying ahead in the eDiscovery game is no longer just a strategic advantage—it’s a necessity. The legal industry is in the throes of transformation, driven by technological advancements and evolving client expectations. This article sheds light on six pivotal trends that are set to shape the eDiscovery landscape in the coming year, arming legal professionals with insights to enhance efficiency and mitigate risks.
1. Generative AI in eDiscovery: From Hype to Reality
The past year has seen the transition of generative AI (GenAI) tools from merely buzzworthy to practical application in the legal realm. While we’re still in the early stages of this revolution, the arrival of tools and workflows designed for responsiveness review—such as those by Relativity aiR and eDiscovery AI—marks a considerable stride forward. Moreover, the emergence of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) tools promises to simplify interactions with vast data sets through intuitive chat-like interfaces.
As Alys Sciannaca, Senior Director in London, aptly puts it, “With AI-generated content only adding to the exponential growth of data volumes, leveraging AI for document review to ‘fight fire with fire’ will soon no longer be optional—it’s the only viable way to keep pace with the rising costs and complexity of document review.”
However, widespread adoption remains a challenge. The crux of the matter lies in discerning where GenAI-enabled reviews can deliver optimal value while balancing risk and cost.
The hybrid approaches that marry generative AI with established Technology-Assisted Review (TAR) workflows are gaining traction. This pragmatic blend offers a balanced path for firms keen on reducing costs and enhancing efficiency while managing risk effectively. RAG models, which enable deep document analysis, chronology preparation, and insightful post-review assessments, are emerging as front-runners in the quest for efficiency gains.
As Junaid Khan, Director of Consulting in London, expresses, “RAG models will have a stronger foundational impact by becoming essential tools for compliance, defensibility, and large-scale data management. They address the industry’s most pressing pain points and align well with legal standards.”
The excitement surrounding GenAI in the legal sector is palpable. The enthusiastic market response to products like DeepSeek’s recent launch underscores the accelerating trend toward high-performance AI, which can be developed and deployed efficiently while minimizing hardware demands. This shift opens the door for customized AI engines, making advanced legal AI solutions more accessible than ever.
Nevertheless, the emphasis on AI tallies with an equally pressing need for robust data governance. In an era where data is foundational to the efficacy and reliability of legal technology, practitioners must confront hard questions about data usage—especially in light of increasing regulatory scrutiny concerning AI practices. The EU AI Act, for instance, signifies a shift towards greater oversight, marking the importance of understanding data as a core competency for legal professionals moving forward.
2. Navigating the Complexities of Hyperlinked Documents
Hyperlinked documents—those modern attachments that are as convenient as they are challenging—are becoming a ubiquitous hurdle in eDiscovery. In platforms like Microsoft 365, users might attach a file stored on SharePoint or OneDrive instead of embedding it directly into an email. While this fosters collaboration, it creates significant hurdles for eDiscovery. Such attached files exist in separate repositories, often eluding traditional forensic collection methods, which necessitates additional workflows for proper identification and processing.
As Harvey Khan, Director of Project Management in the Middle East, emphasizes, “Client awareness of the challenges and costs associated with modern attachments is essential to avoid missing documents in review, particularly as their use becomes more common in M365 and Google environments. Without proper scoping, the risk of project delays and recollections increases.”
Legal teams must develop advanced tools and workflows capable of linking, processing, and reviewing these documents collectively to avoid increased recollection costs and adverse inferences. Proactive identification and robust workflows will be key to sidestepping significant issues downstream.
3. Strategic Multilingual Review: The New Normal
Cross-border disputes and investigations often involve navigating the complex waters of multilingual datasets. Despite a year-over-year increase in non-English data across contentious work—and a corresponding rise in tools designed to assist—multilingual data sets continue to create confusion, escalate costs, and risk misinterpretation of vital evidence.
Unfortunately, many legal professionals still rely on basic, unsecured machine translation (MT) tools without considering the broader implications of language strategy or data privacy concerns. While MT plays a crucial role in identifying and reviewing non-English data, traditional MT engines often struggle with unstructured content, such as chat data from platforms like WhatsApp or Teams. These environments are rife with abbreviations, typos, and informal language that can hinder MT’s ability to extract essential contextual nuances in the source messages.
To leverage MT effectively, lawyers need to select the most suitable engines based on the datatype in question. Emerging chat-specific MT engines offer significant improvements in handling the linguistic intricacies of chat data, but human review remains indispensable for maintaining accuracy and detail. Additionally, LLM-driven MT solutions can provide quick insights at a reasonable cost, yet they can also miss the mark for certain language pairs, underscoring the importance of careful tool selection.
As Robert Wagner, Global Director of Multilingual eDiscovery in London, aptly notes, “The new type of AI engines underpinning machine translation today are an order of magnitude better at working through all the linguistic shortcuts, abbreviations, and typos commonly seen in chat data. However, these solutions should still be considered a halfway house.”
4. Addressing Challenges with Structured Data and Bespoke Platforms
The ever-increasing number of bespoke platforms and structured data sources poses a continuing challenge for eDiscovery. With each passing year, the number of these platforms grows, from construction management tools like Aconex to HR systems like Workday. These platforms often present unique challenges regarding data collection, processing, and review, making it critical to adapt workflows accordingly.
As Adrian Lee, Director in Hong Kong, points out, “As Chinese corporations expand globally, collections are particularly at risk due to atypical data sources. For example, one client is working on a $200M construction project that was handled entirely on WeCom, a server solution from Tencent, which differs vastly from incumbent platforms like Aconex.”
In many cases, proprietary tools or APIs are needed to extract data while preserving its integrity and associated metadata. Additionally, specialized processing solutions are crucial for converting this data into accessible review formats. Volume-based pricing models for exporting data from these platforms can complicate project budgets, highlighting the need for early scoping and close collaboration between legal teams, client platform administrators, and eDiscovery consultants.
As Alex Seigle-Morris, VP of Forensics Technology and Consulting for EMEA and APAC, states, “Our bespoke workflows enable us to tackle challenging data sources like Aconex, Xero, and other custom repositories. It is critical that we work closely with client environment administrators to ensure efficient, tailored collections are carried out in a suitably defensible manner.”
5. Embracing Early Case Assessment (ECA)
Early Case Assessment (ECA) is finally gaining traction as a crucial workflow for managing the increasing volumes of data and controlling costs. By dedicating time to ECA at the outset of a matter, legal teams can identify relevant data and eliminate unnecessary information before engaging in large-scale reviews. This proactive approach not only reduces processing expenses but also accelerates timelines in the long run.
Tom Balmer, APAC Director in Sydney, points out, “We still see many lawyers fall into the trap of rushing into long, linear reviews, driven by a false sense of urgency caused by ever-rising data volumes. Litigators should all know how ECA works, the options available, and the insights they can gain before large-scale review begins—the tech won’t do it for them.”
With a growing number of clients embracing ECA workflows, legal teams must familiarize themselves with the available technologies and strategies to harness its value fully. By combining ECA with AI-driven analytics, teams can glean deeper insights into data, enhancing both the efficiency and accuracy of case preparation.
As Mike Deeker, Middle East Director in Dubai, observes, “In the Middle East, many of our clients are now seeing the potential of ECA to properly investigate their own data systems to effectively make sense of their vast data management repositories and identify key evidence to support potential claims.”
6. A Unique Opportunity to Upskill
Trends in technology often highlight the slow adaptation of an industry that has been wary of change. Yet, within the legal sector, there are numerous examples of transformation. Partners are now delegating case law research to trainees and shifting written correspondence to associates, allowing them to concentrate on strategic direction. Millennials, who comprise 35% of the workforce, bring a wealth of adaptability and shared knowledge that can be harnessed.
Instead of viewing technology as a threat to billable hours, law firms should see it as an opportunity to maximize resources. Tech-savvy lawyers can undertake tasks like research and drafting more efficiently, allowing for enhanced scrutiny of AI-generated outputs. By investing in upskilling junior lawyers, firms can position themselves to achieve the longstanding goal of “doing more with less.”
Law schools and professional development programs must evolve to meet this shift by integrating legal technology modules into their curricula. Firms should also explore opportunities to run parallel tech-enabled workflows and monitor outcomes in real-time. While the initial costs are minimal, the insights gained can be transformative for future business models.
As Al-Karim Makhani, VP for EMEA and APAC, emphasizes, “As law firms integrate AI, junior lawyers will play a pivotal role in adopting and refining these tools. Firms should invest. Where budgets constrain investment at the level requisite to manifest real change, they should forge partnerships with academic institutions and technologists to quickly upskill their teams. This will ensure junior lawyers shape the future of legal work and add strategic value to the firm.”
Conclusion
As we hurtle toward 2025, the trends shaping eDiscovery are clear—adaptation and innovation will be critical for legal professionals aiming to thrive in this evolving landscape. From harnessing the power of generative AI to navigating the complexities of multilingual datasets and hyperlinked documents, the legal industry must embrace these changes to remain competitive. With an eye on upskilling and early case assessment, the future of eDiscovery looks not only challenging but also rife with opportunity.
