I still manage a wry smile when I see a reference to the “Dummies” series.
At the first Legal Tech I attended a copy of “eDiscovery for Dummies” was thrust into my hand as I passed through the exhibition halls and I have been hooked on the series ever since. That particular publication was produced by RenewData who describe themselves as a leading provider of services for the discovery, archiving and governance of electronically stored information (ESI).
In order to emphasise how seriously they take the subject I was amused to see that their publishing and editorial staff are divided into those responsible for “Technology Dummies” and “Consumer Dummies”. The content of the booklet I received appears none the worse for that!
Now I see that there are two new “Dummies” published by Symantec and Recommind on predictive coding, a subject which my (two or three) regular readers will know is close to my heart. This is not because I have become a computer geek ( heaven forfend) but because, increasingly, law firms are asking about it, there is a sharply rising trend of law firms taking it up as evidenced by the work we are actually carrrying out for the and because the courts are becoming interested in the process. This last matter is not because courts in general or even particular judges are keen to endorse a particular product but because we are starting to see decisions by judges who think that this is one tool in the litigators’ armoury which needs to be considered in appropriate cases.