Insights Articles

Q: JD, legal teams today are facing more pressure than ever. What’s changed, and why is business intelligence so critical now?

A: The volume of data legal teams handle has grown exponentially, and so has the complexity of their work. Today’s legal environment involves managing multiple cases at once, working across jurisdictions, and responding to rapidly changing timelines – all while trying to control costs and maintain compliance. Business intelligence (BI) is essential because it gives teams the visibility and control they need to manage that complexity. Without it, you’re making decisions in the dark.

Q: So how do you define business intelligence in the legal context?

A: At its core, business intelligence is about transforming raw data into actionable insight. For legal teams, that means having the ability to understand not just what’s happening in one case, but across their entire litigation portfolio. It means knowing how much you’re spending, where your resources are going, where the bottlenecks are. It’s about connecting the dots so you can make strategic decisions rather than reactive ones.

Q: What are some of the challenges legal teams face without strong BI capabilities?

A: One of the biggest issues is data siloing. Most teams are used to looking at each matter in its own workspace. That’s fine for individual case management, but it makes it almost impossible to see larger patterns – like where your spend is concentrated, or which cases are driving the most activity. You end up relying on manual reporting or external vendors, which is slow and doesn’t give you the real-time insight you need.

Q: That brings us to Acumen. What is Acumen, and how does it address those pain points?

A: Acumen is a centralized intelligence platform that sits on top of your RelativityOne environment. It pulls together data from all your active matters and displays it in a unified dashboard. That includes everything from user activity and storage consumption to matter growth and billable estimates. But what really sets it apart is that it’s built for autonomy. You can create workspaces, manage users, and process data directly – without having to wait on a service provider or incur additional fees.

Q: What are some of the key features teams use the most?

A: Portfolio-wide dashboards are probably the biggest game-changer. You can track your entire footprint in real time. That’s incredibly helpful for budgeting, resource planning, and identifying trends across cases. Another one is time-stamped user activity. Teams love this because it gives them insight into what their staff is working on and helps inform staffing decisions. It’s not just about tech – it’s about managing your people more effectively.

Q: Can you give an example of how this has made an impact for a client?

A: Absolutely. One client’s litigation support team used Acumen to handle more than 4,000 administrative tasks – actions that would have traditionally been billed by their project management team. By managing these tasks in-house through Acumen’s self-service tools, they achieved significant cost savings while gaining full visibility into activity across their matters. This independence also allowed them to better understand where resources were going and make more informed decisions about staffing and budgeting.

Q: How does Acumen help legal teams future-proof their operations?

A: Great question. Acumen was purpose-built with scalability in mind. Legal needs are constantly evolving – more data, tighter timelines, shifting priorities. With Acumen, you can scale up or down based on demand. And because it’s in RelativityOne, you’re already aligned with where the industry is headed: secure, cloud-based, flexible infrastructure. So it’s not just solving today’s problems – it’s preparing you for tomorrow.

Q: What’s the bigger picture here? Why does this matter beyond legal tech?

A: Because legal is increasingly being asked to operate like a business unit. GCs are reporting to boards, managing budgets, and justifying decisions with data. Acumen gives them the tools to do that confidently. It’s not just about saving money – it’s about enabling strategic leadership. When you can see your full portfolio clearly, you’re in control. And in today’s legal environment, control is everything.