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As with most change initiatives, your firm should start with a pilot study and learn from it
before you roll out a more ambitious project. A practice group that wants to be able to predict
results, costs, or duration of matters from a subset of its past matters would be a good choice. The
HR group might also apply multiple regressions on data to reduce attrition or understand better
who makes partner.
3. Subject Matter Expert.
Your firm will need a lawyer who not only supports the initiative but also qualifies as a
“subject matter expert.” A SME can look at the data set and understand the relative importance of
pieces of it, what’s missing or odd, and what the firm might learn from it. A SME can translate in-
the-trenches reality to the champion and programmer. For instance, looking at a set of information
about certain kinds of cases, a subject matter expert could point out that the tenure of the judge —
senior, mid-career, newly appointed — seems likely to correlate with the decision. An SME might
also say that the duration of a case is not particularly useful because there are long stretches where
neither party takes any actions. Even more usefully, an SME could classify matters as successful,
unclear, or unsuccessful so that the software can tease out patterns and influential variables.
Appendix – Source articles
Portions of this chapter came from the articles cited below, albeit with significant re-arrangement
and revisions.
Rees W. Morrison, Mind the Machines: Time to Explore the Potential of Machine Learning,
INSIDECOUNSEL (Oct. 21, 2016).
Rees W. Morrison, The Math Behind AI, as Explained to Lawyers, INSIDECOUNSEL (Dec. 26,
2016).
Rees W. Morrison, Drawing ACES, LEGALTECH NEWS, L12 (Feb. 2017).
Rees W. Morrison, Making the Machine-Learning Switch, 25 MET. CORP. COUNSEL 31 (Feb. 29,
2017).
Rees W. Morrison, With Data Analytics, It's Not Always ‘Follow the Money!’, LEGALTECH NEWS
(March 2017).
Rees W. Morrison, Fairness Calculations: Letting the Gini out of the Lamp, LEGALTECH NEWS
(Sept. 28, 2017).
Rees W. Morrison, The Power of LDA Algorithms and How They Help Text Mine Your Documents,
LEGALTECH NEWS (June 8, 2017). [Text mining]
Rees W. Morrison, ANOVA Apart: How to Tell If Your Firm Averages are Actually Significant,
LEGALTECH NEWS (Aug. 10, 2017). [ANOVA
131
before you roll out a more ambitious project. A practice group that wants to be able to predict
results, costs, or duration of matters from a subset of its past matters would be a good choice. The
HR group might also apply multiple regressions on data to reduce attrition or understand better
who makes partner.
3. Subject Matter Expert.
Your firm will need a lawyer who not only supports the initiative but also qualifies as a
“subject matter expert.” A SME can look at the data set and understand the relative importance of
pieces of it, what’s missing or odd, and what the firm might learn from it. A SME can translate in-
the-trenches reality to the champion and programmer. For instance, looking at a set of information
about certain kinds of cases, a subject matter expert could point out that the tenure of the judge —
senior, mid-career, newly appointed — seems likely to correlate with the decision. An SME might
also say that the duration of a case is not particularly useful because there are long stretches where
neither party takes any actions. Even more usefully, an SME could classify matters as successful,
unclear, or unsuccessful so that the software can tease out patterns and influential variables.
Appendix – Source articles
Portions of this chapter came from the articles cited below, albeit with significant re-arrangement
and revisions.
Rees W. Morrison, Mind the Machines: Time to Explore the Potential of Machine Learning,
INSIDECOUNSEL (Oct. 21, 2016).
Rees W. Morrison, The Math Behind AI, as Explained to Lawyers, INSIDECOUNSEL (Dec. 26,
2016).
Rees W. Morrison, Drawing ACES, LEGALTECH NEWS, L12 (Feb. 2017).
Rees W. Morrison, Making the Machine-Learning Switch, 25 MET. CORP. COUNSEL 31 (Feb. 29,
2017).
Rees W. Morrison, With Data Analytics, It's Not Always ‘Follow the Money!’, LEGALTECH NEWS
(March 2017).
Rees W. Morrison, Fairness Calculations: Letting the Gini out of the Lamp, LEGALTECH NEWS
(Sept. 28, 2017).
Rees W. Morrison, The Power of LDA Algorithms and How They Help Text Mine Your Documents,
LEGALTECH NEWS (June 8, 2017). [Text mining]
Rees W. Morrison, ANOVA Apart: How to Tell If Your Firm Averages are Actually Significant,
LEGALTECH NEWS (Aug. 10, 2017). [ANOVA
131
