“Data Deepen Legal Insights,” The Wall Street Journal, December 14, 2016 A3. Lawyers look at piles of data about judges’ rulings and “predict” how a specific judge will rule in a specific case.
Are past rulings on different facts a reliable indicators of future rulings? Yes, the data itself is interesting, but do lawyers have special skills in analyzing what that non-legal data means? Can you separate the facts from the opinions, and weigh each appropriately?
I am a big fan of probability-weighted risk analysis, and have long been an adherent to Marc Victor’s Litigation Risk Analysis. As one of many inputs into setting a litigation strategy. But only one.
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