Disputes data mining just got even more interesting as Bloomberg Law yesterday (18 October) announced the launch of Litigation Analytics, which will draw on its extensive databases to help lawyers inform their case strategies.
Litigation Analytics will analyse court opinions (both published and unpublished) and docket information to help litigants understand the potential impacts of judges and courts.
In an example of its findings and their application, Bloomberg pointed out that Judge Jack Weinstein in the Eastern District of New York has been almost four times more likely to deny a motion to dismiss in full than Judge Jesse Furman in the Southern District of New York. “The disparity is particularly noticeable when it comes to corporate law cases, where Judge Weinstein has been five times more likely to deny a motion to dismiss in full,” Bloomberg said in a release.
The launch will put Bloomberg in competition with litigation data mining company Lex Machina, which was acquired by LexisNexis in 2015 and through its Legal Analytics platform provides insights about judges, lawyers, parties and patents.
The Silicon Valley company initially focussed on IP litigation but with LexisNexis’ backing is expected to significantly extend its offering and in September unveiled a Courts and Judges Comparator and Law Firm Comparator that instantly compare the court results and performance of both law firms and courts and judges in the U.S.
However, David Perla, president of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg BNA Legal said: “Unlike other analytical tools on the market, Litigation Analytics covers all federal district courts and case types, all practice areas, leverages both case law and dockets, and is available without additional cost to existing Bloomberg Law subscribers.”
Bloomberg has long attempted to disrupt the legal research duopoly of LexisNexis and Westlaw and a statement said yesterday: “With the introduction of Litigation Analytics, Bloomberg Law becomes the first and only full-service legal research and business intelligence platform to include this type of solution, together with access to a comprehensive case law and dockets collection. In addition to providing insights about federal judges, Litigation Analytics includes extensive information on the litigation activities of companies (more than 70,000 public and 3.5 million private companies), as well as the law firms that represent them.”
In addition to informing decisions on how to proceed with litigation, Bloomberg predicts that corporate legal departments and law firms will find Litigation Analytics instrumental in gaining intelligence on their competitors and industry peers, as well as each other.