RelFest 2026: Practical AI for modern litigation
Last week our team attended RelFest 2026 in Sydney, hosted by Relativity. It was an energising few days that highlighted just how quickly legal technology is evolving and how the RelativityOne platform continues to lead the way in applying AI to document discovery.
The opening keynote from Phil Saunders and Chris Brown set the tone. Their message was clear, discovery remains one of the most complex and resource-intensive stages of litigation, and AI is now central to tackling that challenge. What stood out most was the company’s genuine passion for improving the document review experience and equipping legal teams with smarter, more efficient tools.
This year’s conference arrives at a defining moment for the profession. According to Statistica world wide data is set to hit 291zettabytes in 2027, and in turn legal data continues to grow exponentially. As a result, we are seeing disputes becoming increasingly document-heavy. Generative AI has shifted from “emerging” to “essential”, with legal teams rapidly adopting AI tools. The conversation has moved beyond whether to use AI, and firmly toward how to use it responsibly and effectively.
Throughout the conference we saw demonstrations and learning labs showcasing what’s coming next, including an agentic AI assistant designed to help locate and interpret complex document sets, AI-driven case strategy built directly from key documents, and continued advances in AI-assisted review workflows.
We also heard from practitioners at Gilbert + Tobin and Clayton Utz, who shared practical insights from their own use of the platform. Their experiences reinforced how AI-enabled review is already delivering significant time and cost efficiencies, while helping litigation teams uncover insights that may otherwise have been missed through traditional discovery methods.
A consistent theme across the conference was the continued importance of lawyers working alongside technology. The tools are powerful, but achieving the best discovery outcomes still relies on expertise, judgement, and a deep understanding of how to use the platform effectively.
Our team left RelFest feeling energised and optimistic about the future of document discovery. We’re excited to embrace the new capabilities on offer and are continuing to deepen our expertise (including expanding our formal certifications on the RelativityOne platform) so we can continue supporting our clients through increasingly complex discovery challenges.
Contributed by:
Melissa George