Troutman eMerge Achieves Three-Peat, Winning Best Innovation: Discover Award for AI-Powered SearchCraft
Oct 5 2026
ATLANTA – Troutman eMerge, the nationally ranked and award-winning eDiscovery and legal technology affiliate of Troutman Pepper Locke, has won the Best Innovation: Discover Award for its AI-powered natural language saved search builder, eMerge SearchCraft, at the 2026 Innovation Awards hosted by global legal technology company Relativity.
The Innovation Awards celebrate the brilliant minds within the Relativity community and the innovations shaping the future of the legal industry. This marks the third consecutive year Relativity has honored Troutman eMerge, bringing the firm’s total to five awards, more than any other law firm. Troutman eMerge also extends the longest active finalist streak in the Innovation Awards’ history, now in its sixth consecutive year, a reflection of the firm’s sustained excellence in legal technology.
Integrated directly into Relativity aiR, eMerge SearchCraft is an AI-powered natural language saved search builder that converts plain-English prompts into robust, structured saved search conditions, including field-specific operators, logic groups, and dtSearch syntax. It can also explain and modify preexisting saved searches, executing precise adjustments without starting from scratch. By making sophisticated search construction faster, more accessible, and easier to validate, SearchCraft serves as a force multiplier for the native saved search capabilities Relativity users rely on every day.
In an increasingly fragmented legal technology market, this recognition highlights one of eMerge’s key differentiators: a sustained, firm-supported commitment to investing in innovation and developing attorney-facing solutions that help clients achieve better outcomes. These investments deliver meaningful value to clients who rely on eMerge to continually find smarter, more effective ways to solve complex challenges.
“We are honored to have received Relativity’s coveted Best Innovation award three years running,” said Jason Lichter, principal at Troutman eMerge. “At its core, SearchCraft is about helping lawyers find the right information faster and with greater confidence. By combining the power of generative AI with attorney-guided workflows and human oversight, SearchCraft enables users to develop more sophisticated, defensible searches in less time while remaining firmly in control of the process.”
The Relativity Innovation Awards recognize transformative contributions to Relativity-centric workflows, spotlighting new solutions that address the legal data community’s most complex challenges. Troutman eMerge has received previous awards for Best Innovation: Organize for eMerge Split! in 2025, Best Innovation: Enterprise for Flywheel in 2024, Best Innovation: Enterprise for Xtractor in 2022, and Best Law Firm Solution for SynQ at Relativity Fest’s inaugural Innovation Awards in 2014.
Troutman eMerge
Troutman eMerge offers clients integrated legal, technology, and AI-enhanced services to address complex data-driven problems in litigation, transactional and compliance matters, government investigations, and information governance initiatives. eMerge’s lawyers have received numerous accolades from leading industry authorities, including Chambers USA and Legal 500. For more information, visit troutmanemerge.com.
Troutman Pepper Locke
Troutman Pepper Locke helps clients solve complex legal challenges and achieve their business goals in an ever-changing global economy. With more than 1,600 attorneys in 30+ offices, the firm serves clients in all major industry sectors, with particular depth in energy, financial services, health care and life sciences, insurance and reinsurance, private equity, and real estate. Learn more at troutman.com.