I missed this when it came out. Last year, ILTA released an Active Learning Best Practices guide. Here’s what it is and how you can get it.

The Active Learning Best Practices guide was released last October by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA)’s Litigation Special Interest Group in Europe and is designed to represent the first industry-wide consensus on the implementation of machine learning technology in legal disclosure processes.

Developed through unprecedented collaboration between major law firms, technology providers, and legal experts, the guide addresses a critical gap in the UK’s Practice Direction 57AD for civil litigation, providing specific guidance on how technology-assisted review should be applied in practice, specifically paragraph 3.2, sub (3) which says:

3.2 Legal representatives who have the conduct of litigation on behalf of a party to proceedings that have been commenced, or who are instructed with a view to the conduct of litigation where their client knows it may become a party to proceedings that have been or may be commenced, are under the following duties to the court—

(3) to liaise and cooperate with the legal representatives of the other parties to the proceedings (or the other parties where they do not have legal representatives) so as to promote the reliable, efficient and cost-effective conduct of disclosure, including through the use of technology; {emphasis added}

The project, co-chaired by James MacGregor, founder of Ethical eDiscovery (who made me aware of it – thanks James!) and David Wilkins of Norton Rose Fullbright, brought together heads of eDiscovery from over 20 leading law firms, including A&O Shearman, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, and Herbert Smith Freehills. The guide underwent extensive public consultation from July to September 2024, incorporating feedback from international experts including:

• Professor Maura R. Grossman, Research Professor at the University of Waterloo and a leading authority on technology-assisted review
• Victoria McCloud, retired Civil Judge
• Michael Quartararo, President of the Association of eDiscovery Specialists (ACEDS)

Key features of the guide include:

• Detailed methodologies for implementing Active Learning
• Clear guidance on when and how to conclude review processes
• Validated approaches for ensuring quality and completeness of disclosure
• Best practices for handling complex document types and edge cases

The best practices discussed throughout the Active Learning Best Practices guide are summarized at the end of the guide with eight key takeaways for quick reference.

The document is high-level, but a good starting point for someone looking to better understand active learning and how it can be applied to eDiscovery review. The 15-page guide is available here. Hey, if I didn’t know about it, maybe some of you didn’t either! Now you do! 😁

So, what do you think? Are you looking to better understand active learning? This guide will help! Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.