By: Ariane Tadayyon, Solutions Consultant, Opus 2
In litigation, cases are often won or lost on the strength, organisation, and presentation of the underlying evidence. But many legal teams struggle to manage their evidence, frustrated by fragmented data across multiple systems, multiple witnesses that require coordination, and growing procedural demands, such as those outlined in Practice Direction 57AC.
However, legal technology is transforming how solicitors and litigation support professionals manage evidence, from issue analysis to witness collaboration. The topic was explored during a Relativity Fest London session and in a recent evidence management webinar. The discussions featured an overview of challenges and how technology, including AI, is streamlining evidence management. This article highlights key insights from those discussions and offers practical approaches for modernising the evidence process.
The challenge: Why legal teams need better tools for evidence management
Litigation today is often characterised by sprawling document sets, multiparty disputes, and mounting procedural demands. Information is spread across emails, document repositories, and file-sharing platforms, making it difficult to trace what is relevant to which witness and why.
When teams rely on disconnected tools and manual processes it adds complexity and may result in duplicative work, overlooked documents, and difficulty maintaining a clear case overview. Gathering witnesses and their evidence can be as challenging as herding cats.
Compliance with procedural obligations adds further complexity. In the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Practice Direction 57AC requires that a trial witness statement “must identify by list what documents, if any, the witness has referred to or been referred to for the purposes of providing the evidence set out in their trial witness statement.”
This means lawyers must maintain detailed records relating to the preparation of witness statements including a record of the witness interview (be that during a face-to-face meeting, video or telephone call, or by webchat or instant messaging) as well as the questions posed and answers provided. On important disputed matters of fact, records should be kept of whether the witness’s recollection of matters was refreshed by reference to documents. It is crucial for legal representatives to keep track of:
- The documents shown to each witness during the interview
- When they were shown to the witness
- Which documents the witness reviewed of their own accord
Compliance with these requirements can quickly become an administrative burden and a potential point of risk without a secure, structured system to track these exchanges.
Key evidence management technology use cases
Legal teams need better tools to stay compliant with procedural requirements and to operate efficiently and strategically. Fortunately, technology can help. Evidence management platforms can support compliance, improve collaboration, and reduce the administrative burden on legal teams.
1. Centralising and linking issues, documents, and witnesses
Modern case preparation and management platforms enable teams to construct a comprehensive case map by linking legal and factual issues to supporting documents, events, and characters (including witnesses). A centralised approach makes it easy to track what matters, to whom, and why. Instead of spending hours cross-referencing key issues, documents, and witnesses, practitioners can now link documents, people, and events in a single, intuitive system.
2. Streamlining witness evidence preparation and collaboration
Preparing witness evidence often involves creating, tracking, and updating interview questions as new information becomes available. Technology enables users to draft questions directly from documents or issues, associate them with source material, and filter them by topic or witness.
Evidence management platforms can capture and update witness responses in real time, helping legal teams refine lines of inquiry efficiently. Secure collaboration portals also support direct witness engagement. They reduce reliance on email and file-sharing sites and ensure that all parties work from a consistent, controlled set of materials.
3. Ensuring compliance with procedural rules and maintaining audit trails
A key obligation under Practice Direction 57AC is maintaining accurate records of which documents have been shared with each witness, when those documents were shared, and whether the documents were consulted of the witness’s own accord. Manually tracking these records can be time-consuming, error-filled process.
Technology simplifies audit trails by automatically logging what documents have been shared and when. Practitioners can then generate a disclosure-ready list of these documents to submit to court.
Using AI to accelerate and enhance evidence management
Litigation teams are increasingly using AI to manage and analyse evidence. Thoughtfully applied AI can accelerate routine tasks and surface insights that would otherwise require significant manual effort.
For example, AI can summarise long transcripts and documents for faster review so legal teams can quickly grasp the essential points of lengthy materials. Users can organise summaries thematically or by question and answer, extracting what is most relevant to case strategy. AI can also review interview notes and highlight potential inconsistencies in testimony, analyse witness sentiment, and suggest unexplored areas for follow-up questions. Additionally, AI can run natural language queries across case materials, enabling teams to quickly retrieve facts, cross-check information, and explore patterns across documents and transcripts.
While AI could help to prepare a first draft of the witness statement, its content must remain in the witness’s own words in England and Wales under Practice Direction 57AC.
Tips for adopting evidence management technology
Several recommendations emerged from the sessions to help legal teams modernise their approach to evidence management:
- Centralise early: Consolidate key documents in a central workspace as soon as you anticipate litigation to increase clarity and improve coordination throughout the case.
- Integrate with existing disclosure tools: Choose platforms that work seamlessly with tools in your litigation management tech stack. Reducing the need to manually transfer or duplicate data between systems improves efficiency, minimises the risk of errors, and creates a clear line from evidence collection and strategy to trial preparation.
- Standardise metadata and tagging: Establish structured tagging and metadata practices to keep information searchable, organised, and easy to analyse across teams and matters.
- Use role-based access for secure sharing: Ensure your technology supports granular access control to maintain confidentiality when collaborating with external parties, including factual and expert witnesses.
- Avoid over-engineering: Select intuitive tools that enhance your current workflows. The most effective solutions are those that complement how your teams already work rather than requiring workflow changes.
It’s time to modernise your approach to evidence management
Evidence management technology enables legal professionals to focus on higher-value strategic work and can significantly improve collaboration, enhance compliance with procedural requirements, and streamline the preparation of complex litigation. For solicitors and litigation support professionals, now is the time to reconsider traditional approaches to evidence management and adopt solutions that support efficiency and accuracy at every stage of the case lifecycle.
Request a demo today to learn more about how Opus 2 helps litigation teams streamline evidence management from disclosure through to trial.