Jennie Le is SVP Global Operations at FRONTEO USA (formerly UBIC). She was in London shortly after the publication of the UK judgment in Pyrrho which gave court blessing to the parties’ agreement to use predictive coding. Since this interview, we have had the contested application in BCA Trading in which the court approved of the use of predictive coding in the face of one party’s opposition.

Jennie Le has had many years of experience in helping US corporations and lawyers as the US began to accept the use of predictive coding. FRONTEO has a new office in London, and I took the opportunity to pick Jenny Le’s brains about the use of analytics in discovery / disclosure.

Jennie Le emphasises the role played by FRONTEO’s consultants in these exercises. FRONTEO provides data scientists who lead lawyers through the technology, the protocols and the statistics, as well as helping the lawyers manage their cases properly. One of the concerns on both sides of the Atlantic is the extent to which lawyers need to understand the technology. Jenny Le refers to the US ABA rules which require lawyers to understand technology at least to some extent. It is, she says, good practice at the least to be familiar, not necessarily with the algorithms, but with the arguments needed to satisfy opponents and the court about the search.

FRONTEO’s consultants take part in discussions with opposing lawyers right from the start, participating as much as the client requires. Clients are becoming more comfortable with technology like this, Jenny Le says, and there is no doubt that judicial opinions have helped with this.

Home