Legal firms are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to move faster, find connections within case documents, and make decisions. Some firms may still be digitizing files or implementing their first document management system. The goal in each case is to boost speed and productivity. Behind the technology to increase a firm’s effectiveness, there is a risk that most firms can’t see. Consistently, there are documents their systems cannot find. Every document that needs to be reviewed, shared, or redacted, if not found, can put a firm at risk.
Technical audits of the files across a law firm’s system revealed that 20%-30% of their documents are image-based – such as scanned PDFs – and can’t be found by searching document text. How can a firm solve this problem? Using optical character recognition (OCR) software through scanners, PDF converters like Adobe Acrobat can address this issue, but these solutions cut part way through the problem, many documents or document pages are left unconverted.
Close to a third of all client documents are potentially obscured from content searches. Chances are something critical can be overlooked during any given case. The dangers of missing documents range from inefficiency to potential ethics violations, or malpractice suits for unseen client liabilities. Here are a few scenarios that illustrate these risks.
Inefficiency and Dissatisfaction with Existing Systems
A common scenario is when a partner is looking for a document they know exists, but that document does not show in a text search. Extra time is spent figuring out what the file name might have been or hunting through folders and email messages to find the specific document. Frustration sets in especially when thousands of dollars may have been spent on a document management system.
Disclosure Omissions
Another problem of unsearchable documents, it contributes to higher risk when a firm is gathering documents to respond to a subpoena request, a client’s records request, or for a disclosure response during the discovery phase of a trial. The omission of these documents could result in the repeated request or worse, ethics violations. The omission could result in monetary fees or court sanctions if caught after the discovery phase is over, or in sanctions by the bar at any time after a case has been settled.
Failure to Withhold Information
Often, the information withheld is just as important as the information disclosed. Attorneys have a duty to protect sensitive client information when providing documents to opposing counsel. If it isn’t possible to search for document text, such as the client’s social security number, it can be easy to transfer that information unintentionally, and in violation of ABA’s Rule 1.6.