How to leverage technology to win multidistrict litigation

What is multidistrict litigation (MDL)?

Multidistrict litigation is a federal procedure, established under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, that consolidates civil lawsuits sharing common questions of fact into a single federal district for coordinated pretrial proceedings. A single judge oversees discovery and case management across all the consolidated actions; if a case isn't otherwise resolved, it's sent back to its original court for trial.The volumes of data involved in MDL and class actions are exploding, and the technology decisions made at the outset of a matter will reverberate for years — sometimes decades. Yet most litigation teams delay those decisions, repurpose inadequate legacy systems, or ignore the problem until it becomes a crisis.

What software is best for MDL?

The data volumes involved in MDL and class action cases are exploding — and the technology decisions made at the outset of a matter will reverberate for years, sometimes decades. Yet most litigation teams delay those decisions, repurpose inadequate legacy systems, or simply ignore the problem until it becomes a crisis. This guide from Nextpoint's Client Success team gives senior litigators a strategic framework for evaluating and deploying the right technology infrastructure for any MDL — in plain language, without the vendor jargon.

Five things you’ll learn from this guide:

1. Why delaying your technology strategy is the most expensive decision you can make
2. Why your existing firm infrastructure isn't built for MDL
3. How shared discovery infrastructure reduces costs and protects privilege for all parties
4. What a cloud-based MDL platform must actually deliver
5. How to ask the right questions before committing to a technology strategy

What's inside

• MDL technology strategy framework
• Why stagnation bias costs more long-term
• Shared discovery infrastructure analysis
• Litigation risk and cost allocation guidance
• Cloud vs. legacy platform comparison
• Key infrastructure requirements for MDL
• Social media and web collection considerations
• Multi-jurisdiction concurrent trial support guide

MDL is not standard litigation managed at scale — it is a fundamentally different challenge that demands a fundamentally different technology approach. This guide gives your team the strategic foundation to make the right decisions early, avoid the most common and costly mistakes, and build a platform that holds up for the life of the matter.