Is Judge Peck the First to Require a Predictive Coding Protocol for Automated Doc Review?
An unusual decision by a federal magistrate judge to require a so-called predictive coding protocol for automated e-discovery in an employment discrimination class action is both good news and bad news for young attorneys.
The bad news: A number of their jobs could be at risk, if what may be a first-of-its-kind ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck in the Southern District of New York case becomes commonplace.
The good news: A number of lawyers could be freed from the drudgery of document review if the predictive coding protocol becomes a trend.
Designed to allow documents obtained through electronic discovery to be categorized without having a set of human eyes review each page, predictive coding is expected to be used in Da Silva Moore v. Publicis Groupe et al. to deal with some 3 million documents. A human review team will initially go through about 15,000 to 20,000 documents to determine an appropriate protocol for using Recommind’s Axcelerate product, Law Technology News reports.
The article, which links to a copy of the complaint (PDF) in the case, says Peck may be the first federal judge to require a predictive coding protocol.
However, it’s not yet a done deal. Further submissions are due by Feb. 17 concerning a predictive coding protocol, after which the judge will issue a final decision on the issue.
Hat tip: Above the Law.
Related coverage:
ABA Journal: “A New View of Review: Predictive Coding Vows to Cut E-Discovery Drudgery”
ABA Journal: “Still Searching: Computers Change the Role of Lawyers in E-Discovery”
