Historically, the legal industry has not fully harnessed the potential of analytics technology. Conventional, static, or text-based search methods have their limitations when compared to the capabilities of modern technology. Case teams often run standard searches to get a document count and then work from that based on budget and how limited in scope they want to produce to opposing counsel. Often, these choices are made without any prior knowledge of the documents or whether they contain relevant, incriminating, or helpful information to their case.
Conceptual search goes beyond the mere words on a page, focusing on the underlying meaning, and consequently delivers a result set that is not only more pertinent but also more meaningful. Analytics is something we already use in everyday life. Virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant use conceptual search to understand and respond to voice commands more effectively. They aim to interpret the user's intent and provide contextually relevant answers.
Finds relevancy in documents: Conceptual search looks at the entire document – the “four corners” of the page, it then displays relevant search terms based on the document's content once the desired keywords are recognized.
Provides ranked results: Conceptual search ranks results based on their content and concepts, enabling prioritization, and creating a strategy around the results. A conceptual search for soda will provide a ranking score of how strong that concept is as it relates to soda, beverage, Cola, and Pepsi, to name a few. In contrast, a static search on soda will result in only documents that contain soda.
Enables refinement of terms: Numerous language-related challenges hinder the effectiveness of keyword search. Perhaps you’re getting too many results using a text search. Conceptual search enables you to fine-tune your results by potentially eliminating terms that do not align with the intended meaning you're seeking. Conceptual search will also find documents that include synonyms of search words, such as “student” and “pupil” or “cold” and “frigid”.
Uncovers potential false positives: Utilizing conceptual search, you can pinpoint probable false positives that may arise when using traditional search methods that focus solely on static words, which can have multiple meanings. Conceptual search considers word variations, offering a deeper level of insight.
Same search term workflow: PLUSnxt integrates an analytics index on every project alongside the standard dtSearch index. The case team's processes remain unchanged, with the same user interface and search term reports. This means you'll continue to receive a document list, with standard views, allowing you to review documents as usual. Nothing is different; we're just leveraging analytics technology to offer more meaningful search results, enhancing your overall experience.
Integrated Automatic workflow: The workflow happens automatically. For instance, when PLUSnxt imports and publishes new data into a workspace, the automation initiates, resulting in the creation and update of the analytics index. No additional actions are required from your end, and it doesn't affect or change the standard review by the case team.
Conceptual search is a valuable tool that should be incorporated in every case or matter, irrespective of its nature. It comes at no extra cost, making it a compelling choice for leveraging technology. Importantly, implementing conceptual search doesn't require your case team to alter their existing processes. Instead, it simplifies their tasks and yields more pertinent results. This integration seamlessly fits into your current workflow, and PLUSnxt will provide guidance throughout the process.
Have questions about conceptual search technology, or maybe you’re thinking of utilizing the technology for the first time? Contact PLUSnxt now.
