Predictive coding comes of age

Master Matthews’s recent judgment in Pyrrho Investments Ltd and another v MWB Property Limited et al [HC-2014-000038], has been widely-cited as a ground-breaking decision for the use of predictive coding technology during disclosure. Predictive coding is a machine-learning algorithm which learns why documents are being categorised in a certain way on the basis of a sample set of documents which have been reviewed by a lawyer. The system’s learning can then be applied automatically to un-reviewed documents, thereby opening the possibility for potentially-relevant documents to be disregarded without having been reviewed by human eyes. The judgment has been heralded by many as the end of protracted and expensive document review exercises, signalling entry into a new world where litigators’ approach to disclosure is turned on its head.

The judgment: A starter for ten

Master Matthews helpfully set out a ten-point judgment which paves the way for future use of predictive coding technology. The pertinent takeaways can be summarised as follows:

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