At LegalTech, one of the more interesting panels featured Dan Katz of ReInvent Law and Josh Becker of Lex Machina. I tweeted several of Josh’s slides, which offer some of the key capabilities of Lex Machina’s data analytics platform.
First, Lex can measure the rates at which different firms (names redacted for the presentation) can settle cases. This is very valuable information. If a company receives a demand letter from a firm that always settles out, and never litigates, that letter may be ignored. Or, if a firm never settles, a company may brace itself for litigation if settlement talks do not pan out.
@LexMachina measures rates that different firms settle cases #ltny pic.twitter.com/0lYsY0ZtVB
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
More important than whether a firm settles, is when a firm settles. If firms never settle right away, but tend to settle after specific junctures in the litigation cycle, the opposing firm can use that intelligence to time their settlement offers.
@LexMachina measures at what stages of litigation firms settle #ltny pic.twitter.com/Iy6CKlQefh
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
Lex also breaks down out various patent cases turn out.
@LexMachina breaks down outcome of patent cases #ltny pic.twitter.com/YPoV4uE6UC
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
This includes the time it takes to bring a patent case to trial
@LexMachina calculates time for trial #ltny pic.twitter.com/xYliWqYpmo
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
When a GC is considering hiring a lawyer, Lex Machina offers a breakdown of how often they have appeared before that judge, and how they have performed. This type of query may also be relevant for locating local counsel.
How often does a lawyer appear before different judges? #ltny pic.twitter.com/qE2lzVB53h
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
Lex also profiles various law firms based on data crawled from PACER.
@LexMachina offers firm profiles #ltny pic.twitter.com/7gea4mrWxK
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
And, if a firm wants to pitch a client, they can offer specific information about how a given judge, or judges in a jurisdiction, handle related cases.
Firms can pitch clients w data about a particular judge #ltny pic.twitter.com/ftIYp9fQbP
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
More importantly, firms can pitch clients based on how a specific judge rules, and whether this may be useful for a change of venue.
Firms can pitch clients w data about how their judges rule #ltny pic.twitter.com/EjlFAaSnQY
— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 6, 2014
These types of inquiries can be performed on Lex Machina in a manner of seconds. In the past, these queries would have taken associates countless hours to perform–and the results would not have been nearly as comprehensive.