Right Discovery Staff Writer
Generative AI has changed what legal teams can do with data. The bigger question is whether organizations have done the work needed to make that data useful in the first place.
In a new Legal Data Intelligence article, Right Discovery CEO Kevin M. Clark joins his LDI colleagues including, Melina Efstathiou, Ross Gotler, Matt Hamilton, Tristan Jenkinson, Glenn Melcher, Daniel Miller, and Linda Sheehan; to assess how organizations can move from Early Case Assessment and Early Data Assessment toward a more strategic approach: Early Data Strategy. The concept is straightforward, but putting it into practice requires much more than deploying another AI tool. It requires organizations to understand their data, govern it responsibly, and create the foundation for AI to produce reliable intelligence.
They make an important point about the relationship between information governance and GenAI. AI can analyze enormous volumes of information, identify patterns, and answer questions in ways that were previously difficult or impractical. But if the underlying data is outdated, redundant, incomplete, improperly classified, or inaccessible for the wrong reasons, those capabilities can create more problems than they solve. The familiar idea of “garbage in, garbage out” takes on a new meaning when an AI system can present unreliable information with an impressive level of confidence.
That is why knowing your data matters. Organizations need to understand what information they have, where it resides, who can access it, and which AI systems can interact with it. Data mapping becomes particularly important because AI can introduce new data flows that are not always obvious from the perspective of a traditional information governance program. Prompts, outputs, model versions, integrations, storage locations, and processing jurisdictions can all become relevant when assessing how information moves through an AI-enabled environment.
The LDI team also examines the role of AI vendor contracts. Questions about model training, data retention, confidentiality, data residency, and deletion can directly affect how an organization manages legal and regulatory risk. These considerations should not be limited to new technology purchases. Existing agreements may need to be revisited as vendors introduce new models, features, and data-processing practices.
Perhaps most importantly, the article brings the discussion back to what happens when organizations do not know their data before they need it. Real-world examples illustrate how poor data readiness can contribute to delayed regulatory responses, unnecessary collection and review costs, incomplete collections, and challenges during internal investigations. These situations demonstrate that data strategy is not simply an AI initiative. It is part of being prepared to respond when something important happens.
Early Data Strategy provides a way to connect these pieces. A mature EDS program can help organizations move beyond using data only to respond to a particular dispute or investigation and instead use it to identify patterns, recognize emerging risks, and support better decisions. GenAI can play an important role by helping identify patterns across large matter portfolios, flag anomalies, and allow legal teams to query their data using natural language.
The technology may be new, but the underlying lesson is not: you cannot build reliable intelligence without reliable data. Organizations that want to get meaningful value from GenAI should start by understanding and governing the information that makes those capabilities possible.
Download the full Legal Data Intelligence article here, co-authored by Kevin M. Clark and his LDI colleagues, for a closer look at operationalizing Early Data Strategy in the age of GenAI.
About Legal Data Intelligence
Legal Data Intelligence is a collective of industry leaders from corporations, law firms, and legal service providers working together to help legal teams get more value from their data. LDI brings together real-world experience and data-driven thinking to help organizations turn information into actionable intelligence.
Kevin M. Clark, CEO of Right Discovery, is part of this growing community of legal and technology leaders. Through LDI, Kevin contributes his experience in eDiscovery, legal technology, and data strategy to the broader conversation about using data more effectively to support legal decision-making.
Topics: Early Data Strategy, EDS, Early Data Assessment, EDA, generative AI, legal data intelligence, AI governance, information governance, legal technology, data mapping, LDI, Right Discovery