5 Key Litigation Support Trends and Tips for 2025 – Q2 2025 Facts & Findings

Ari Kaplan Advisors’ recent survey of top litigation support directors reveals key trends and insights into how firms are preparing for the future. Advancing Litigation Support to Fuel Growth in a Changing Legal Market is based on interviews with directors of litigation support at midsize and large law firms throughout North America.1 The participants shared their views on the challenges of rising caseloads and data volumes, their firms’ use of technology and generative artificial intelligence (genAI), and the need to drive innovation to stay ahead of competitors. If you work in litigation support, here are five trends you need to know and five tips for success in 2025.

5 KEY LITIGATION SUPPORT TRENDS

1. Sifting Through More Data for the Same Facts: Nearly all the survey participants (93%) reported that the volume of data they manage for an average dispute is increasing, yet half say the number of documents, records, or exhibits they use at trial remains the same. This means teams are spending more time to get the same results. The frequent introduction of new data types will likely continue to compound this issue throughout 2025.

2. Data Proliferation Could Threaten Growth: Four out of five respondents (80%) said that litigation department revenue growth is a priority for their law firm. Consequently, 83% expect their case portfolio to grow in the next 12 to 18 months. However, meeting the law firm’s goals while managing exponential data volume growth could present challenges, with 60% of respondents agreeing that these factors are a concern.

3. Outdated Technology May Become a Barrier to Innovation: Almost one-third of respondents (30%) reported using a case management solution that is at least 10 years old. Additionally, 20% of the participants acknowledged that they have insufficient technology for their teams to succeed. Nearly half (47%) rated their case management tools’ adoption and consistency levels below average.

4. Case Management Upgrades are Top of Mind: More than two-thirds (70%) of participants stated they use a dedicated case management system that helps legal teams centrally manage all litigation and arbitration information and workflows. However, among firms using dedicated case management tools, over half (57%) have evaluated different tools in the past year, and 43% said they could save time by investing in a different solution.

5. AI is Overwhelmingly Viewed as an Advantage: Nearly nine out of 10 participants (87%) said AI-assisted case management software gives them a competitive advantage, with half of the participants saying their firms already use gen AI to support their litigation processes. The respondents agree that gen AI will have the most significant impact on document analysis (100%), transcript management (90%), chronology creation (87%), and case strategy (77%).

5 LITIGATION SUPPORT TIPS FOR SUCCESS

1. Proactively Prepare for the Data Deluge: Collecting and producing increasing amounts of data is not the only challenge facing litigation teams. They must also consider how to use these new media types effectively at trial. When developing your legal case strategy, consider the role of new data types in telling your story. Plan how this evidence will be presented and authenticated at trial.

2. Streamline Your Case Management Approach: If your litigation department struggles to achieve case management consistency across teams, it may be time to review your technology stack. Stand-alone tools may be causing a disconnect. The research shows that some litigation teams routinely use six or more tools for litigation support tasks like annotation, task management, case chronology, deposition preparation, and transcript management. Consider a cloud-based platform that can centralize these processes within one solution.

3. Offer Ongoing Technology Training and Resources: Only 57% of the trial lawyers at the surveyed law firms use the available case management tools. Increasing litigation support and lawyer adoption enhances productivity and promotes higher overall adoption. One survey participant said, “Once paralegals and associates become avid users, the partners follow suit.”

4. Make Innovation More Approachable with Incremental Change: One of the most significant barriers to innovation is overcoming resistance from reluctant users. Several survey participants reported success using an incremental approach focusing on delivering targeted solutions rather than wholesale change. If you can solve an acute problem with a new solution, you can demonstrate its immediate, tangible value while building trust. One practitioner described this mindset: “We are just trying to help our attorneys provide the best service they can, so our litigation support team is more focused on providing concierge-level service to the firm’s lawyers rather than driving rapid technological change.”

5. Take Advantage of Built-In AI: In 2025, litigation professionals will shift from asking each other, “Do you use AI?” to “How do you use AI?” While some firms will invest in broad, stand-alone AI solutions, others will take advantage of AI capabilities within their current technology stack, giving users the benefits of AI without the burden of learning a new tool. This approach offers simplicity and familiarity for reluctant users. It also gives tech-savvy users access to powerful tools to manage the growing waves of incoming data effectively by accelerating annotation, chronology creation, document analysis, summarization, and transcript management. Another benefit is that lawyers and partners are more likely to adopt a case management tool if they can quickly dive into essential and relevant case documents using built-in AI chat or query capabilities.

CONCLUSION
Over the next year, law firms must find the right balance of talent, training, technology, and adaptability. Doing so will empower their litigation teams to manage increasing data volumes while meeting growth goals and driving slow but steady innovation that will set them apart from the competition.

RESOURCES
1 https://www.opus2.com/litigation-support-industry-research/

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Kim Bookout is a Director of Solution Consulting at Opus 2, a leading legal software and services provider. Relying on 20 years of experience as a senior litigation paralegal, she is committed to finding the best technologies to help law firms and their clients develop optimal outcomes.