Looking beyond the U.S. Supreme Court to leverage big data for 21st century legal strategy and analysis
Behavioral Analyses
While anyone may have insights on judges’ or attorneys’ decision-making, data can tell a different and more elaborate story. Think about how businesses use upwards of thousands of data points to help predict consumer behavior. Similarly most legal actors have left a trail of choices from previous decisions that can be combined to gain a deeper understanding of their decision-making processes.
Who to Hire
Businesses, in-house counsel, and interest groups constantly make decisions on hiring outside counsel. Data can assist with these decisions by benchmarking the performance of various legal counsel. This helps present a clearer picture of the legal landscape and more informed choices.
Strategic Decisions on the Margins
Everything from choosing whether to litigate, where to litigate, how to proceed in litigation, settlement, and more comes down to strategic decisions. Lawyers are professionally trained in making these choices. Data can provide an extra layer of assurance. Using statistical analyses can support hunches by helping to dictate decisions on the margins when no clear decision is superior.
Forecasting and Prediction
A common goal in law is predicting outcomes. Think jury analytics. Counsel’s goals are trying to forecast the outcomes based on prior choices. Data can go a long way towards helping achieve this goal. Proper utilization of statistical and machine learning techniques can help come up with likelihoods that certain events, choices, or outcomes will ensue.
Empirical SCOTUS 