The Nuts and Bolts of Casetext
As the legal industry continues to evolve, so too does the world of legal research. One name that has gained traction over the years is Casetext, a platform that provides access to legal research and document drafting tools. Casetext is the leading AI-driven legal research solution. Boasting a vast library of legal resources (including over 10 million cases), it aims to level the playing field in legal research for lawyers in all firm sizes and can help pinpoint relevant authority faster than traditional text search of cases and statutes.
In recent years, Launched in 2013, Casetext has grown to become one of the primary competitors to more established companies such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. By providing a free, user-friendly search interface and a wealth of legal resources including case law and statutes, Casetext has revolutionized how lawyers and legal professionals navigate the complex legal landscape.
Casetext operates on a freemium model, meaning that while many of its resources are available for free , advanced features may require a subscription. Casetext is a legal research tool and does not offer any paid legal advice, nor is it a substitute for a licensed attorney. Casetext users can gain access to a wide range of cases, statutes, legal articles, and secondary sources through their website or the Casetext App on mobile devices. They even offer free legal research for pro bono lawyers.
The platform’s use of AI technology allows legal professionals to save time and increase efficiency by streamlining the research process. The company has also developed an impressive AI feature called CARA AI, which helps lawyers avoid missing critical case law relevant to their argument. CARA AI analyzes the brief or set of documents uploaded by the user and returns a list of relevant authorities, which could have easily been missed.
As the pace of legal work increases and the need for quick, accurate research becomes more essential than ever, platforms like Casetext are changing the way that legal professionals access the law.
The Essential Features of Casetext
CASSETEXT CARA A.I.
CARA A.I. is a first-of-its-kind machine-learning driven legal research tool that uses over 10 million integrated cases to analyze key issues of law relevant to the specific context of the cases you upload. The service then produces top relevant cases, statutes, administrative codes, and secondary sources for review. The service is accurate and efficient, delivering the right results faster than any other legal research tool.
Advanced Search Capabilities
Carter capable of searching data laws and rulings on both a state and federal level. Users can search by citation, court, or cadence. Carriage can analyze over 2 million precise annotations, which help lawyers find the exact statute or case they are looking for in seconds. CaseTalk automatically analyzes language in brief to fetch hidden cases that are otherwise excluded from traditional searches.
Comprehensive Database
Casetext offers one of the most robust and comprehensive databases in the legal field, compiling a 340 million word law library from a combination of federal, state, and administrative codes, case law and citations, and secondary sources such as legal encyclopedias and law reviews. With an extensive government-funded database and thousands of active contributors, Casetext is reliable and current. To ensure accuracy, all annotations are checked twice before being added to the library.
Automatic Case Updates
Users have access to thousands of annotated opinions that highlight the two million annotations that document a case’s treatment throughout history. Every time users perform a search, a section is automatically generated at the top of the results page that tells them instantly whether any new law impacts the exact cases that are being searched.
How Casetext Improves Legal Research Productivity
Recognizing the necessity for speed in research, Casetext’s efficient layout saves lawyers vital minutes with each search. By consolidating information and documentation in a single location, and adding filters to reduce results based on specific needs, research becomes a much more streamlined operation. Individual caselaw, statutes, regulations, secondary sources, the Attorney General’s opinions, briefs, docket filings, and other forms of government documents can be found in one look-up. By displaying the results in a condensed format that allows pages to be clicked through, multiple documents can be accessed without opening new browser tabs. This provides a convenient way to support claims and arguments with relevant case law without having to move back and forth between individual documents.
Filters that help users locate specific information, and the ability to jump from citation to citation, also help attorneys remain both efficient and accurate. By displaying all available cases, and statutes in chronological order, the legal professional can build a picture of how the law or laws have evolved over time, making it easier to find the most relevant arguments for their current needs and streamlining the process of supporting them with references based on a timeline. Combined with condensed summaries and additional search functions, the attorney can quickly locate negative and positive cases, and research alternate viewpoints in nearby chapters. Simplifying research saves time and money for your firm, making Casetext a valuable asset to the modern lawyer.
Analyzing Casetext versus Other Research Approaches
When comparing Casetext to traditional legal research methods, the differences are clear. Traditional methods require attorneys to spend hours going through outdated paper materials and relying on their memory to find the most relevant information. This traditional method of research is not only time-consuming, when using paper materials, but also costly when factoring in those costs with the amount of time needed to conduct the research.
Casetext has reinvented how attorneys conduct research. Allowing lawyers to perform research at the click of a button saves time and money. An attorney would have to take time out of their busy schedules to find a comfortable spot to sit with their research materials, and proceed to look for the information they need. With Casetext, a lawyer doesn’t even have to get up from their desk to conduct their research. Convenience and ease of use are two important features that Casetext offers that traditional legal research doesn’t.
Using Casetext is as simple as typing in a phrase or question, and let Casetext do the rest. The system will quickly provide the user with information they are looking for. This allows for the attorney to have more income-producing time, instead of worrying about expenses related to time spent researching.
In addition, the system is always up-to-date, while searching paper materials can take days to locate and research. By using Casetext, the attorney gets instant satisfaction by directing them to the information they need.
Researching has just become easier and less stressful, while saving attorneys lots of money every year.
Casetext Case Studies and Testimonials
As with many applications, real-world use and success stories can make the product or application even better. What are real-world examples that tackle any challenges a user might face? Casetext has provided a great example.
"Second, we wanted a tool that would allow our attorneys to easily sort through motions, find good law, and generate a well-cited memorandum in minutes. Casetext’s CARA AI now allows users to drag and drop a brief or motion directly into its interface and have it instantly analyze the entire filing to find the most relevant cases to enhance the argument. In addition, handwritten notes and transcripts can be converted into editable text, making it easy to extract information and arguments from these documents for use in a filing . CARA AI also provides relevant cases and authorities by topic, rather than just by judge or date, helping attorneys find good law faster and see whole areas of the law from multiple perspectives. After nearly a year of using CARA, our team is confident that we can find authority to bolster our argument or counter opposing counsel’s position quickly, whether we’re drafting a brief, preparing for trial, or an appeal."
"Third, we wanted a product that would grow with us over the years. As our client base increased and our firm expanded to serve clients in more geographic regions, we did not want to have to keep purchasing licenses. All of our team members continue to rave about Casetext. It is affordable (even for our newest associates) and will continue to grow with our firm’s needs."
How to Make the Most of Casetext
The user interface is clean and simple and the website is easily searchable by both the novice researcher and experienced practitioner. If you’re new to using Casetext, check out their support page and familiarize yourself with the product.
Search by Citation
If you want to jump right into your research, the most efficient way to search for a case is to enter the citation. You can also search for cases by docket number, which would be particularly useful if you’re looking to quickly find cases currently pending before a Court of Appeal. If you’re not sure how to locate a case by its docket number, you can use LASC Docket Search service, which is provided as part of the California State Bar website.
Search by Topic
If you’re not sure where to start your research, topics such as "Litigation", "Civil", or "Legal Research" can help point you in the right direction. You may want to consult these categories even if you already have a case citation, since they may reveal an appellate decision that’s relevant to your case before the Court.
Search by Keyword
The keyword search is very specific and assumes you know what you’re looking for. I entered "nonparty" and the search results only returned one case, which is probably expected (and yes, I was apparently researching an issue involving a nonparty non-lawyer). Be prepared to try different keywords until you find the cases you’re looking for.
Use Their Alerts
If you’re working on an ongoing matter, you can easily keep all of your research in one place by using Casetext on all of your matters. You can set alerts for when a new case is filed or an existing case is updated. These alerts are easy to set and immensely useful. If you’re not sure whether you’ve set an alert for a particular matter, you can see all of your alerts on the left menu bar.
Save Important History
If you’ve done the hard work of researching and writing a brief, you’ll want to save your research history for future matters. Casetext is regularly indexed and can be cross-referenced by the date you saved as well as the case citation. You can easily review and locate all of your research in one spot.
Integrate with Westlaw/LexisNexis
Lawyers are understandably hesitant about integrating their research and documents into another website. However, Casetext offers a web extension that allows you to easily transport your Caselaw and documents into either Westlaw or Lexis. This seamless integration of your saved Casetext documents makes Casetext much more viable as a standalone research option without having to worry about losing your research history.
Navigate Casetext Effectively
Navigating the Casetext site is easy, and you can choose to personalize your navigation experience to accommodate your specific research needs. The intuitive and well-organized design makes it easy for you, your attorneys, and your staff to jump right into the Casetext platform and immediately begin performing research.
Note that you are not required to log in and create an account to perform legal research on the site. You can simply go to www.casetext.com, and enter your query in the search box, without having created login credentials first. However, if you want to keep your own folders, documents, and searches organized in one place, you will need to sign up for an account. Casetext offers both free and paid accounts for your users, so that you can assign the correct subscription level to each person within your law firm or organization. We’ll take a look at your account options in the next section of this guide.
Don’t worry if you forget to log into your account before starting your research: even if you haven’t signed in, Casetext does automatically keep a list of your searches, and you can see your most recent searches by scrolling down slightly below the search bar on the landing page.
The Future of Legal Research and Casetext
The future of Casetext is promising. With the legal technology landscape constantly evolving, Casetext is well-positioned to adapt and lead the charge in revolutionizing legal research. They already offer a number of AI-based tools, including CARA A.I. for brief analysis, and they continue to innovate at a rapid pace. One exciting possibility is that Casetext could help to create a more "level playing field" for smaller firms versus the larger incumbents. In doing so, a family law attorney or newly minted criminal defense lawyer can get the same quality real time access to legal insights (if not better) as the leaders of the $1 billion dollar firms . Of course, one of the commonly asked questions is "which legal research service should I use?" Casetext’s technology has already proven itself valuable for major firms, and there’s no reason to think it shouldn’t be for smaller ones too.
Having said that there may be specific challenges to competing with large top companies with decades of history and thousands of employees if you are a smaller player. So, for the future, the best bet from the team at Casetext is to continue their focus on their core product, Casetext Legal Research for lawyers, paralegal and other staff that perform research tasks in law firms. In addition, I expect them to get into the books space and maybe a subscription service for custom and other tools that would help law firm practice areas to become more efficient and that can be integrated into the firm’s daily business workflows.