Ushering in 2025 After a Transformative Year in AI Innovation and Leadership

At the start of 2024, the legal technology industry grappled with the possibilities and uncertainties of artificial intelligence (AI). Many viewed AI as a promising tool but remained skeptical, wondering whether it can deliver meaningful change or is simply a buzzword. Over the year, however, this speculation turned into tangible action as legal professionals began incorporating AI into their workflows, sharing best practices, and redefining how technology supports legal processes. Generative AI (GenAI) emerged as a game-changer, empowering teams to draft documents more efficiently, analyze massive datasets with greater precision, and make informed decisions faster. The industry’s rapid adoption of these capabilities has driven remarkable results, enhanced proficiency and enabled legal teams to deliver better outcomes. 

At HaystackID®, we embraced this transformative year with an innovative yet measured approach to GenAI. We’ve achieved breakthroughs by focusing on practical applications tailored to real-world challenges. Our AI-powered solutions have changed how clients handle complex eDiscovery cases, manage compliance demands, and respond to cybersecurity incidents. To cap off this milestone year, we celebrated with an AI-themed New Year’s countdown on social media, highlighting key moments in our journey. Here’s a snapshot of the strides we’ve made in delivering meaningful innovation, underscoring our commitment to helping the legal tech industry unlock the full potential of AI. 

New Year’s Countdown #5: Expanding the Protect Analytics AI® Suite 

In January 2024, we expanded our Protect Analytics AI® Suite, an AI-powered suite of services that revolutionizes how sensitive information is identified, analyzed, and reported within massive, unstructured datasets. The enhanced suite, featuring Protect Analytics AI – Sensitive Data Identification, Protect Analytics AI – Entity Extraction, and Protect Analytics AI – Deploy, redefines the speed and accuracy of cybersecurity-centric incident responses, breach investigations, and notification actions. By leveraging advanced AI capabilities, the suite has reduced the time required to achieve actionable insights from weeks to days—and sometimes from days to hours. 

On the heels of this announcement, Protect Analytics AI for Relativity earned the prestigious 2024 Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Award in the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity category. As Michael D. Sarlo, our Chief Innovation Officer and President of Global Investigations and Cyber Incident Response Services, explained: “Protect Analytics AI for Relativity represents a significant leap forward in our ability to empower clients with the tools they need to manage their sensitive data. By harnessing the power of AI to identify a wide array of internationally recognized sensitive data types, we’ve crafted a platform that not only enhances efficiency across our global engagements but also heightens the precision with which sensitive information is handled.” 

By August 2024, Protect Analytics AI continued to garner accolades, being shortlisted in the Best Use of AI in Legal Tech category at the inaugural 2024 A.I. Awards, part of the long-standing Cloud Awards program. This recognition underscores the innovation and impact of HaystackID’s solutions. Reflecting on this achievement, John Brewer, HaystackID’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Chief Data Scientist, said, “This recognition by the Cloud Awards is a testament to HaystackID’s innovative and measured approach to AI, which is focused on using technology to drive value and efficiency for some of the largest enterprises around the globe.”  

New Year’s Countdown #4: Leading the GenAI Conversation with the EDRM 

In partnership with the EDRM, HaystackID sponsored a series of workshops to explore GenAI’s transformative role in the legal field. Moderated by our Director of Content Marketing, Mary Bennett, the workshops brought together renowned AI and legal industry experts to discuss the ethical and practical implications of integrating GenAI into everyday workflows. Topics ranged from how GenAI reshapes document review and legal processes to its impact on cost efficiency and decision-making.  

The recent workshop “Balancing Ethics and Efficiency with GenAI in Legal” provided particularly valuable insights. It addressed the delicate balance of leveraging AI’s capabilities while maintaining strict ethical standards. Panelists Mary Mack, David R. Cohen, David Horrigan, Jim Sullivan, and Anya Korolyov shared actionable strategies for using GenAI in litigation practices, highlighting the importance of aligning this technology with existing workflows to refine eDiscovery metrics, enhancing operational efficiency, and driving measurable outcomes. While celebrating the advancements of AI tools, they also addressed critical challenges, including ensuring data confidentiality, managing AI hallucinations, and navigating the complexities of ethical billing. 

By the end of each workshop, attendees gained a deeper understanding of integrating GenAI responsibly into their legal workflows while remaining mindful of AI’s ethical implications and limitations.  

New Year’s Countdown #3: Sharing AI Thought Leadership from Coast to Coast 

Our experts took center stage at leading industry events across the globe to share their insights on AI’s transformative potential and practical challenges. At SOLID West – San Francisco, Brewer explored the inherent gap between human intentions and AI system behavior, a critical issue for legal, IT, and business professionals as AI adoption accelerates. He emphasized that while AI systems can be powerful tools, their “alignment problem” requires thoughtful evaluation to ensure they support, rather than disrupt, human objectives. 

At the Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Annual Meeting, Korolyov joined an esteemed panel to discuss the delicate balance between leveraging AI-driven analysis and maintaining human oversight to mitigate risks related to privacy and compliance. As AI becomes more integral to decision-making processes, Korolyov and other panelists highlighted the importance of understanding its limitations, ensuring transparency, and safeguarding against potential regulatory pitfalls.  

HaystackID’s John Wilson and Sarah Pons brought their knowledge of data collections, analytics, and AI to the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA)/SC Joint Fall Meeting, spotlighting the latest advancements shaping the legal tech landscape. Their discussion provided attendees with actionable insights into the evolving role of AI in eDiscovery and compliance, showcasing how technology can drive efficiency and precision in handling complex data challenges.  

With additional events and insights on the horizon for 2025, we’re committed to exploring advancements in AI and sharing practical knowledge to help professionals across industries thrive amid all the changes unfolding in our industry. 

New Year’s Countdown #2: Taking AI Out in the Virtual Field 

Throughout 2024, our experts took a hands-on approach and shared their expertise through various programs on using AI to enhance workflows in eDiscovery, cybersecurity, and beyond. In March’s ACEDS #DataUnmasked livestream, Brewer unpacked the “alignment problem” between humans and AI and highlighted the importance of responsible teaming between legal professionals and GenAI tools, offering strategies to improve precision and maintain accountability. Brewer returned to the livestream in October to share updates on large language models (LLMs), focusing on how these advancements reshape document review and automate traditionally manual processes.  

In December, our webcast explored how unified AI strategies can break down silos between eDiscovery, privacy, governance, and cybersecurity. Panelists emphasized the importance of aligning shared data sources and cross-functional skill sets, leveraging AI to support legal and business needs. This approach bridges gaps between departments and enhances data lifecycle management, from creation to litigation. Panelists warned of the risks associated with poor data hygiene and oversharing with AI tools, underscoring the need for robust data controls and clear user education to mitigate exposure.  

Moderator Nate Latessa, HaystackID’s EVP of Advisory Services, emphasized a key takeaway: “Data classification is, to me, the holy grail. If we can classify data, we can better protect information from a cybersecurity standpoint. We can limit our privacy exposure and downstream discovery costs and responsibly deploy AI.” 

New Year’s Countdown #1: Launching Core Intelligence AI™ 

August marked a pivotal moment for the industry with the launch of Core Intelligence AI, a groundbreaking eDiscovery solution powered by advanced GenAI workflows. Unveiled as part of the Discovery Intelligence Suite on the HaystackID Core® platform, Core Intelligence AI combines cutting-edge GenAI technology with deep contextual analysis to streamline the review and discovery of electronically stored information (ESI).   

As Andrea Wallack, President of HaystackID, stated in a press release: “We’ve integrated generative AI capabilities into our platform to meet the unique needs of our clients, enabling them to tackle complex eDiscovery challenges with confidence. Our priority is to provide practical and efficient solutions, ensuring high levels of efficiency, defensibility, and compliance.”  

We built upon this momentum by integrating Relativity aiR for Review into Core Intelligence AI the following month. This collaboration leverages aiR for Review’s advanced analytical capabilities to improve the speed, accuracy, and defensibility of document review, offering legal professionals a comprehensive solution for managing the increasing complexity of ESI.  

“Core Intelligence AI represents a critical leap for legal professionals in managing electronically stored information (ESI) with maximum precision and speed,” said Hal Brooks, CEO of HaystackID, in a press release. “By incorporating advanced GenAI workflows and working with partners like Relativity, we are empowering our clients to eliminate arduous, time-consuming processes and focus instead on strategic, high-impact decision-making.” 

The 2025 Countdown Starts Now 

As we step into 2025, we will continue to drive AI innovation and thought leadership, with an emphasis on practical applications, responsible implementation, and cross-functional collaboration. To kick off the year, we’re hosting a January webcast titled “Protect Sensitive Data and Control Costs: An eDiscovery Blueprint for the Construction Industry,” which explores practical and advanced AI strategies designed to help construction attorneys address the unique demands of their field. Attendees will learn how to build comprehensive eDiscovery blueprints for specific events or as standard operating procedures (SOPs) that reduce risks, control costs, and safeguard critical project information. Learn more and save your spot today.  

2024 has been a year of remarkable AI progress and transformation, and we look forward to seeing what 2025 has in store.