Media Coverage: DLA Piper and Imperial College Business School collaborate on ground-breaking data science initiatives

DLA Piper and Imperial College Business School have announced a collaboration to develop, test and apply a number of data science initiatives within the firm. The collaboration began with projects known as Data Sparks, within both the Corporate and Litigation & Regulatory practices, and it is anticipated that similar projects will roll out across the firm.

Following the success of the initial Data Sparks projects, DLA Piper recruited two data scientists from Imperial. Participants in the ongoing projects include teams from Imperial, DLA Piper mentors, and the new in-house data scientists at DLA Piper. Working collaboratively, the aim of the project is to analyse data on legal work to optimize processes and our client offerings.

As DLA Piper is the legal advisor on more M&A deals than any other law firm in the world, one such Data Sparks project has involved studying the wealth of in-house data on transactions to understand the impact of deal characteristics and combinations on outcomes. The key findings are currently under analysis.

DLA Piper’s Chief of staff, Andy Williams said, “This is an incredibly exciting collaboration with Imperial and is an excellent example of how we are constantly developing in order to offer our clients the best insight and service. As our partnership matures with Imperial, we will be working alongside our in-house scientists to get further under the skin of big data to best serve the needs of our clients.”

Dr Mark Kennedy, Associate Professor, Strategy & Organisations, Imperial College Business School said, “Working with DLA Piper is a privilege. With their global platform and scope, they have the data required to use new techniques in data science to reveal insights that will improve not only the quality of legal services, but also the experience of doing legal work. Working together, we are gaining a deep understanding of the tasks and interdependencies that are essential to excellent legal work. We look forward to breaking new ground as the collaboration develops.”

Imperial College Business School is part of Imperial College London, a top ten university and research facility with a world-class reputation in science, engineering, business and medicine. The College was ranked the most innovative university in Europe by Reuters in 2018.