Data-Driven Insights: The Key to Winning Cases

Litigation data analytics have become table stakes in modern lawsuits, with roughly seven in ten legal professionals at law firms of various sizes saying their clients expect them to use analytics in their work, according to an April 2025 survey. Like in the previous year’s survey, most respondents indicated that “successful litigation outcomes” drove their usage - which was by far the number-one response. 

By extracting meaningful patterns and trends from millions of lawsuits, analytics equip attorneys to more deeply understand their own cases, identify potential weaknesses in their opponent’s arguments, and develop more effective strategies. Analytics do not introduce a new way to litigate cases; they simply uncover insights that can be placed in the hands of a skilled litigator to take that reasoning, analysis and persuasion to the next level. 

How Litigation Analytics Help Improve Litigation Outcomes 

Litigation analytics can provide a wealth of insights that enhance case evaluation, strengthen the persuasiveness of arguments, and optimize trial preparation. Ways they can help lawyers craft winning case strategies include: 

• Jurisdiction Insights 

Choosing the right venue can be crucial to securing the best possible outcome for a client. Litigation analytics can bring to light the court with precedent most favorable to a client and help counsel avoid arguments that the court has previously rejected. They can also reveal similar cases that have been tried in a specific court, as well as how the court ruled on those cases. This helps practitioners determine whether a change of venue is in order, and should they decide to proceed, identify compelling language to support their motion. 

Beyond enhanced analytical insights for all commercially relevant civil litigation in federal courts and more than 100 state courts, Lex Machina now also shows docket-level data and filing patterns for lawsuits in 1,200 additional state courts. 

Alt-Text: Lex Machina now shows docket-level data and filing patterns for lawsuits in 1,200 additional state courts.  

• Litigant Insights 

Understanding and anticipating the corporate risk profiles for parties involved in lawsuits can provide litigators with a more fulsome picture of what might represent a successful outcome for each side.  

• Judge Insights 

When lawyers understand in advance what judges want to hear, they can win more arguments with proven persuasive authority tailored to their judges’ preferred language. Litigation analytics go beyond traditional legal research by mining each judge’s authored case opinions and rulings to uncover the language and citations they rely on most often. 

• Opposing Counsel Insights 

The ability to anticipate opposing counsel’s next move is a major advantage for experienced litigators. Analytics can serve as a secret weapon for litigators of all skill levels by surfacing key insights about opposing counsel’s behavior in similar circumstances. By understanding opposing counsel’s practice-specific experience and successes, lawyers can draft more persuasive briefs that are tailored to neutralize counterarguments. 

• Expert Witness Insights 

The persuasiveness of each side’s respective expert witnesses can be a crucial factor in a litigation outcome. Analytics from Context and Lex Machina enable legal professionals to quickly pinpoint whether (and why) judges have admitted or excluded a proffered expert’s testimony in other lawsuits. 

Experience Lex Machina 

Lex Machina, the LexisNexis® Legal Analytics® platform, helps lawyers drive superior litigation outcomes and business development. Our platform enables practitioners to understand the performance of their opposing counsel, analyze the behavior of a court or judge, and anticipate their clients’ chances for success. Request a free demonstration to experience the power of Lex Machina for your team.