Bridging the eDiscovery Gap: Translating Technology for Lawyers, Investigators, & Business
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Why collaboration between legal, IT, and eDiscovery specialists is critical to defensible, cost-effective investigations.
In this episode of The Salient Edge, host David Fisk explores one of the most persistent challenges in modern investigations and litigation: the growing gap between eDiscovery technology and the business users it serves.
Joined by Adam Bown, Managing Director of Salient Discovery with over 20 years’ experience across forensic investigations, data analytics, and eDiscovery, the discussion unpacks why lawyers, investigators, IT teams, and service providers often talk past one another - and what that disconnect really costs organisations.
As eDiscovery platforms evolve to include machine learning, generative AI, audio and video transcription, translation, and conceptual clustering, many legal teams struggle to understand how (and when) to trust these tools. At the same time, IT teams understand data environments deeply but may not appreciate the legal, evidentiary, and defensibility implications of data identification, preservation and collection decisions.
This episode covers:
• Why lawyers aren’t technologists — and technologists aren’t lawyers
• The risks of over-collection and under-collection in investigations and litigation
• How poor collection decisions inflate review costs, risk spoliation and weaken defensibility
• The reality of machine learning and generative AI in document review
• Why mobile device collection is a “one bite at the cherry” exercise
• How forensic accounting and business context improve investigative outcomes
• The critical role of a quality eDiscovery service provider in bridging legal, IT and technology gaps
The conversation reinforces a core message: successful eDiscovery is a collaborative partnership. Neither side knows what they don’t know — and value is created when service providers translate complex technology into business-ready, legally defensible outcomes.
Whether you’re a lawyer, investigator, forensic accountant, or in-house leader, this episode decodes the complexity and shows how the right expertise can reduce risk, control costs, and improve results.
In this episode of The Salient Edge, host David Fisk explores one of the most persistent challenges in modern investigations and litigation: the growing gap between eDiscovery technology and the business users it serves.
Joined by Adam Bown, Managing Director of Salient Discovery with over 20 years’ experience across forensic investigations, data analytics, and eDiscovery, the discussion unpacks why lawyers, investigators, IT teams, and service providers often talk past one another - and what that disconnect really costs organisations.
As eDiscovery platforms evolve to include machine learning, generative AI, audio and video transcription, translation, and conceptual clustering, many legal teams struggle to understand how (and when) to trust these tools. At the same time, IT teams understand data environments deeply but may not appreciate the legal, evidentiary, and defensibility implications of data identification, preservation and collection decisions.
This episode covers:
• Why lawyers aren’t technologists — and technologists aren’t lawyers
• The risks of over-collection and under-collection in investigations and litigation
• How poor collection decisions inflate review costs, risk spoliation and weaken defensibility
• The reality of machine learning and generative AI in document review
• Why mobile device collection is a “one bite at the cherry” exercise
• How forensic accounting and business context improve investigative outcomes
• The critical role of a quality eDiscovery service provider in bridging legal, IT and technology gaps
The conversation reinforces a core message: successful eDiscovery is a collaborative partnership. Neither side knows what they don’t know — and value is created when service providers translate complex technology into business-ready, legally defensible outcomes.
Whether you’re a lawyer, investigator, forensic accountant, or in-house leader, this episode decodes the complexity and shows how the right expertise can reduce risk, control costs, and improve results.
Chapters
- 00:01 Introduction to eDiscovery technology gap discussion
- 01:21 Adam's professional journey and industry evolution
- 03:06 The widening technology gap and client understanding
- 05:48 Machine learning and AI implementation challenges
- 08:38 Trust in technology vs human reviewers
- 10:33 IT function challenges in data collection
- 13:40 Mobile device collection complexities
- 15:58 Mobile technology arms race
- 16:50 Financial understanding in fraud investigations
- 19:10 Balancing technical and business skills
- 22:40 Service provider role in bridging gaps
- 24:05 Collaborative partnership coonclusion
