As we step into 2026, it’s an ideal moment to reflect on the trends that shaped discovery over the past year. In 2025, legal teams navigated rapid innovation, evolving data types, and rising client expectations around speed, accuracy, and efficiency. This retrospective looks back at the eDiscovery trends that had the greatest impact in 2025—and how forward-thinking teams are using legal technology to stay ahead in the year to come. At Array, we witnessed these changes firsthand. Supporting matters from early data management through managed review and subpoenas gave us unique insight into how these shifts influenced workflows, staffing models, and case outcomes. Below are the five trends that left the biggest mark on eDiscovery in 2025.
If 2024 was the year firms piloted AI, 2025 was when they deployed it operationally. Legal teams focused on defensibility, risk management, and structured deployment of AI solutions.
In practice, that looked like:
The turning point came when teams recognized that AI doesn’t replace legal judgment—it augments it. With review attorneys guiding and validating AI outputs, reviews became faster and more consistent. By reallocating attorney time from repetitive review to strategic tasks, litigation leaders increased client value and cut costs.
Collaboration platforms, mobile messaging, voice data, and AI-generated content expanded review sets again in 2025. Yet costs didn’t rise at the same pace for teams that embraced modern analytics.
Legal team increasingly relied on:
Early adopters prevented runaway review costs—even on matters with millions of documents—especially where analytics were paired with clear governance and consistent workflows.
In 2025, privacy laws and data residency requirements made cross-border litigation and discovery more complex.
As organizations expanded across borders, discovery teams encountered new challenges:
Consequently, legal teams began searching for service partners who could quickly operate across different and global jurisdictions. While global support was previously a “nice to have,” it is now essential for any matter dealing with international data.
In 2025, growing expectations from courts, clients, and regulators for faster results led to a more compressed litigation timeline, compelling teams to streamline each stage of their discovery workflow.
In response, firms took several strategic steps:
The firms and legal departments that excelled in 2025 were those that replaced ad hoc processes with predictable, repeatable systems—reducing both turnaround time and error rates.
Discovery matured into a strategic pillar of litigation in 2025.
Instead of viewing discovery as a tactical phase, leading organizations treated it as a core component of case strategy, client value, and risk management. This mindset shift manifested in several ways:
Adopting this elevated perspective enabled organizations to better foresee potential challenges, minimize unexpected issues, and achieve superior results.
The trends of 2025 underscored a critical insight: legal teams that invest in scalable processes, analytics, and advanced technology are well positioned to address increasingly complex caseloads while maintaining high standards of quality and oversight.
As legal teams establish their priorities for 2026, the lessons learned over the past year offer valuable guidance. It is essential to integrate AI solutions with careful consideration, adopt global and hybrid review models, streamline workflows, and approach discovery as an integral element of comprehensive legal strategy.
Array is dedicated to assisting legal teams as they approach 2026 by delivering a full range of litigation services, including AI-powered managed review, global hosting solutions, subpoena management, and comprehensive eDiscovery support. By combining industry expertise, advanced technology, and client-focused approaches, we enable legal teams to remain at the forefront of changing trends and achieve meaningful results.
With thoughtful planning and the right partnerships, legal teams can transform the evolving challenges of 2026 into significant opportunities for growth and success.