Discover the top AI legal brief writing software to enhance your practice. Learn how these tools automate drafting and editing for increased efficiency.
A new generation of software is transforming the brief creation process for law firms. Advancements in machine learning and generative artificial intelligence (or generative AI) are empowering legal teams to draft, edit, and cite their briefs and motions faster while incorporating stronger and more thorough logic. These are the main benefits of legal brief writing software, which is quickly becoming an essential tool for high-achieving law firms.
This guide explains the advantages of and use cases for legal brief writing software. We'll also introduce the top six applications gaining traction with legal teams.
Legal brief writing software streamlines the drafting, editing, and reviewing of legal briefs and related documents. These applications use artificial intelligence to write new text, identify relevant research, check citations, and suggest corrections and improvements. They can also analyze the opposing counsel's briefs to identify where arguments can be made.
These legal AI tools come in different forms. Several are extensions to Microsoft Word, some are standalone applications, and others are integrated into all-in-one practice management solutions.
Using AI for legal documents can deliver several benefits. With the right tool and process, AI-powered writing support can improve the efficiency and accuracy of your legal briefs. It can also provide richer legal research and result in the development of more targeted and effective arguments. To be clear, legal AI tools do not compromise the quality or accuracy of your briefs. They complement your legal skills by catching small errors and providing suggestions, while leaving the final judgment in your hands. For those reasons, many law firms are incorporating these tools into their AI adoption strategy.
Generative AI increases efficiency and productivity by automating the starting point for the firm's legal briefs. Having AI produce a draft quickly eliminates writer's block and allows lawyers to focus on higher-level efforts such as argument construction, analysis, and strategy.
Document editing is also faster and more thorough with AI. Editing can be difficult for humans because the brain can skip over misspellings and automatically fill in missing words. This can be especially problematic when editors are reviewing their own work. Using AI for legal documents can help capture those pesky typos more consistently with minimal human effort.
Some legal AI tools provide real-time feedback on the document's readability, tone, and grammatical accuracy. Legal teams can use that feedback to create clear, persuasive, and error-free documents. The feedback also supports creating broader document standards to ensure teams consistently produce high-quality content.
AI can research faster and more thoroughly than humans. These applications can scan massive archives to find relevant and favorable precedents and then return summaries of their findings in minutes rather than hours. They can review a judge's ruling history to identify any patterns that could potentially improve the brief. Some can also compare arguments and sources for opposing briefs.
Lawyers use generative AI in several ways to add efficiency and accuracy to their workflows. Examples include:
Several AI tools for lawyers include these efficiency-enhancing features. Six of the most popular are introduced below.
Clearbrief plugs into Microsoft Word, so legal writers can access the application's generative AI features without wholly altering their process. This application identifies legal citations within a document and locates the corresponding case law. It can also spot and highlight citation mistakes, such as references to fictional cases, within your team's content or opposing counsel's. Additionally, Clearbrief creates case timelines and summaries of case facts, adding links to the source information to streamline verification.
Clearbrief complies with the independently audited SOC 2 security framework to keep client data confidential. The application integrates seamlessly with MyCase, LexisNexis, and several other popular legal applications.
BriefCatch is a product of legal writing expert Ross Guberman. This application is tailored to the unique communication needs of lawyers with an emphasis on clarity and reader engagement.
BriefCatch is another Microsoft plugin that functions within Word and Outlook and primarily functions as a legal content editing tool. BriefCatch produces a real-time report on brevity, flow, clarity, and readability for any piece of written content. It also highlights the content's strengths and provides improvement suggestions. Like Clearbrief, BriefCatch is compliant with the SOC 2 framework.
EzBriefs, which also works within Microsoft Word, has a more specific function and can produce a verified Table of Authorities or TOA in minutes. It locates all citations in the document, confirms them by cross-referencing against the application's legal database, and formats the table. Additionally, links embedded in the TOA point to a database that judges can access for easy reference.
EzBriefs also analyzes opposing counsel's arguments to locate inconsistencies and inadequate support and has collaboration features so team members can provide feedback for briefs in progress.
WordRake provides in-line content improvement suggestions within Microsoft Word and Outlook. This application is popular with lawyers, though it positions itself more broadly for all types of professionals.
Backed by over 35,000 algorithms, WordRake can edit for brevity, simplicity, or both. Whether you are writing AI demand letters or AI client communications, the software highlights potential edits based on your selected goal. Common suggestions include removing unnecessary words, replacing complicated words, restructuring confusing sentences, and converting nouns to verbs for improved flow.
However, it’s worth noting that WordRake does not address grammar problems or spelling issues.
Brief Analysis is a feature within Lexis+ that can summarize a brief's legal concepts, provide further research recommendations, and suggest wording and argument edits to strengthen the case strategy. Sources used for recommendations include case law, treatises, successful similar briefs, and expert notes from Practical Guidance legal practice guides.
Suggestions are annotated where applicable with source information. For example, if a similar brief is referenced, the application displays its key metadata, such as the brief date, motion, and outcome. This allows the team to confirm the relevance and suitability of related suggestions.
Drafting Assistant works within Microsoft Word to streamline the drafting process for transactional and litigation documents. The application creates transactional drafts quickly from model documents and automated templates. It also highlights errors and inconsistencies in content, analyzes opposing counsel's briefs and motions, and inserts links to cited authorities on Westlaw where applicable.
For litigation documents, Drafting Assistant can format citations using The Bluebook or state-specific rules, generate TOAs, insert links to cited authorities, search for relevant case authority, insert citations, and compile the full text of authority cited in the document.
The new generation of legal AI tools can boost efficiency for law firms while contributing to better case outcomes and happier clients. These efficiency gains are realized faster with applications that function within a team's existing workflows. This is where AI-enabled practice management applications stand out; they already have access to case files, and teams need to make only minor adjustments to their processes to use the AI features.
CASEpeer, the top-rated practice management system for personal injury lawyers, now includes AI-powered document support called IQ Text Editing. This feature can summarize legal writing, fix grammar, improve tone, and translate. Additionally, tone suggestions are driven by user-selected goals, such as optimizing the content to be formal, assertive, or empathetic. This provides incredible versatility, as team members can quickly produce compelling content that fits the audience and situation.
To learn more about CASEpeer and its next-generation document support, schedule a demo today.
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