1. General information

Project name: Automation of legal text analysis based on machine learning
Project code: 09I05-03-V02-00049

1. Introduction and survey objective

The project partner Wolters Kluwer SR s.r.o. (hereinafter referred to as "Wolters Kluwer Slovensko") carried out a survey of end-users of legal texts as part of the KPB1 work package.
The aim of the survey was to identify the needs, habits and expectations of entities that regularly work with legal texts. We focused on how end-users perceive current legal information tools, what they lack in them and what specific functionalities
could increase their efficiency in their work.

1. Survey methodology

Number of respondents:

• 102 legal professionals from different areas of law and regions of the Slovak Republic.

Method of data collection:

• Combined interview form:
  • Questionnaire with a focus on structured, open-ended questions.
  • Direct in-depth interview in case of selected respondents.

Questionnaires were distributed to clients of Wolters Kluwer Slovakia. Not only ASPI users were contacted, but also users of other Wolters Kluwer Slovensko expert solutions who use various legal information systems in their work. After the data collection was completed, a thorough assessment of the relevance of the responses was carried out and they were discarded:

• Incomplete responses
• Blank forms
• Responses with no meaningful value (e.g. "I use the legal system because I pay for it")

The questionnaires were anonymous, the data was processed in accordance with the GDPR.

1. Characteristics of respondents

Experts from various segments of legal practice participated in the survey, e.g.:

• Lawyers and lawyers in the private sphere
• In-house lawyers in firms
• Public administration and judiciary employees

1. Summary of key findings

Based on the analysis of the responses, the following key end-user needs and expectations were identified:

• Fast and efficient search
  • Respondents clearly stated the need for intuitive and accurate search that enables them to quickly obtain up-to-date and trustworthy information.
  • They expect the search result to be immediately usable without the need for further verification or assessment of its relevance.
• Working with case law
  • Users would welcome concise summaries of court decisions, allowing them to quickly grasp the substance without having to read the entire judgment.
  • The highlighting and extraction of keywords above the decisions was also positively evaluated, speeding up navigation and analysis.
• Predicting the outcome of legal disputes
  • An interesting request that has been made repeatedly is a tool to predict the outcome of litigation.
  • Such a tool would help to more quickly assess the likelihood of success in a particular case, and thus plan further legal action more effectively.
  • Although this is a challenging functionality, several respondents see significant potential for the future of legal information systems.

1. Conclusion and recommendations

The survey results confirm that end users of legal texts expect smart, fast and reliable tools that simplify their work and reduce the time needed to search and analyse legal information.

Key recommendations based on the survey are:

• Streamline search mechanisms with an emphasis on accuracy, filtering and ease of use.
• Implement case law summaries and keywords to increase clarity and reduce the time needed to navigate through decisions.
• Consider developing a tool for predictive analysis of legal cases that could use a combination of historical decisions, similarities between cases, and case law development.