CDS was once again a proud sponsor of the Electronic Discovery Institute’s (EDI) 15th Annual Leadership Summit, which took place October 15-17 in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. William Wallace Belt, Jr., Managing Director, Consulting at CDS, was a featured panelist at Friday’s session “Ask Better, Get Better: Strategies for Turning Written Request into Prompts. From judges to technologists, the conversations revealed how AI is reshaping eDiscovery from every angle.

Setting the Stage: Data Growth and AI’s Expanding Footprint

At this year’s EDI Leadership Summit, CDS joined legal and technology leaders to discuss one of the most pressing topics in the industry today: the impact of Generative AI on corporate legal teams and the eDiscovery process. As global data volumes continue to explode, doubling every two years and expected to reach 181 zettabytes in 2025, the growing influence of AI-generated data is introducing new challenges at every stage of the discovery lifecycle.

Perspectives from the Bench and the Bar

Panel discussions at EDI emphasized that these challenges are best understood not just through the traditional EDRM framework, but by examining the roles of the professionals who use AI. Judges highlighted concerns about hallucinations in AI output, as well as emerging case law such as the Tremblay decisions, which recognize prompt writing and prompt engineering as protected attorney work product. Outside counsel focused on the need to validate AI-generated content, citing cases where unverified AI citations led to professional consequences. They also explored how GenAI forces lawyers to revisit long-standing concepts like authentication and admissibility of evidence.

For corporate counsel, the impact of Generative AI reaches well beyond the legal department, affecting governance, data management, and risk mitigation enterprise-wide. While AI presents opportunities to boost productivity, it also requires heightened diligence to ensure that innovation aligns with ethical and legal standards.

Across all discussions, one theme was clear: Generative AI is reshaping not only how eDiscovery is performed but how legal professionals think about their work. As the technology evolves, CDS remains dedicated to helping clients harness AI responsibly, balancing innovation with accuracy, defensibility, and trust.

Explore Further: Download Our White Paper

To take a deeper dive into how AI is transforming the legal landscape, download our white paper, AI in Legal Practice: Bridging the Gap Between Innovation and Adoption, developed for the EDI Leadership Summit. Explore practical insights on AI governance, defensibility, and adoption strategies to help your organization innovate with confidence.

Download the white paper or contact us at to learn how CDS can help your team navigate AI’s evolving role in eDiscovery.