By Kelly Twigger, CEO, Minerva26
For too long, discovery has been treated like a compliance chore. Check the boxes, survive the deadlines, move on. That mindset doesn’t hold up anymore.
When nearly all evidence lives as ESI, discovery is the case. Early, defensible decisions about data now set the trajectory—what gets found, what gets missed, and how the story gets told long before trial. Treat discovery as strategy and you shape outcomes. Treat it as paperwork and you inherit risk: sanctions, spiraling costs, credibility hits with the court, and frayed client trust.
This is the pivot point. Discovery isn’t the warm-up act—it’s the main event.
The Gap: Skilled Litigators, Broken System
Litigators haven’t failed to adapt for lack of talent. They’ve been forced into a third job: decode evolving rules, track shifting technologies, and make high-consequence calls on scope, preservation, proportionality, privilege, and production—often without structure or support. You can’t build strategy if you’re underwater.
Layer on the reality of modern data—Slack and Teams threads, mobile content, ephemeral messages—and the definition of “reasonable” changes as quickly as the tools do. Most lawyers were never trained for this. Law schools gloss over it. Firm training is inconsistent. Too often, people learn mid-crisis, in live matters, with real consequences. That’s not just inefficient; it’s ethically dangerous.
The Answer: Put Strategy Back in the Driver’s Seat
Minerva26 is the Discovery Strategy Platform for litigators. We connect the dots between rules, case law, and real-world workflows so litigators can lead, not react.
- Issue-aligned guidance that mirrors how litigators think—by issue, motion, jurisdiction, and risk.
- Context, not just checklists—what the rules require, how courts interpret them, and how to apply that to your data sources.
- Defensible sequencing across identification, collection, review, privilege, and production—so every move builds your record, not your exposure.
When you align decisions to authority and workflow from day one, you don’t just avoid sanctions—you earn credibility, move faster, and surface the evidence that wins.
AI Is a Force Multiplier—Not a Substitute for Judgment
AI is a tool, not a strategy. In Minerva26, AI accelerates insight while you retain control. We surface what matters and frame the next best step—without forcing a new mental model. And we’ve priced access flat and scalable, so boutiques and AmLaw teams alike can command discovery without “metered strategy.”
What Changes for Your Team
- Own the opening moves. Scope and preservation decisions become leverage, not paperwork.
- Make the record you want to try. Issue-tagged authority + live rules + practical workflows = cleaner motion practice.
- Lead your client. Discovery choices are business-risk choices; show the path, don’t narrate the chaos.
Find Us at Legal Innovators
And Ask About Ask Minerva
We’re exhibiting at Legal Innovators New York—come find me (and say hi to Daryl Greene) at the Minerva26 booth. Stop by ask me about Ask Minerva—our chat-like strategy layer inside Minerva26 that delivers cited, case-backed answers at the point of decision, with supporting quotes and references plus relevant checklists, templates, and suggested clause/objection language you can adapt to your matter. It helps you set scope and sequencing across identification, collection, privilege, and production with recommended steps tied to rules and case law—so your next move is fast, defensible, and aligned to strategy.
Not coming / can’t attend? Book a meeting with us to see Ask Minerva in action and explore how Minerva26 puts you back in control.
