Today, Casetext has announced the release of its automated legal brief-writing software Compose. The legal tech company most known for legal research is expanding beyond purely analyzing case law that relates to a brief or filing, and is now taking a more hands-on approach to motion writing.

Compose uses Casetext's legal research and machine-learning abilities to streamline the brief-writing process. After lawyers write their arguments, they can highlight a sentence and search for supporting cases and standards. Compose lists any supportive case filings, including the specific quote that supports their argument and access to read the full document. Once the lawyer decides to add the suggested case citation, the supporting case's citation appears in the brief beside the lawyer's argument. 

To begin a brief in Compose, all users must answer whether they are the movant or nonmovant party, the jurisdiction the brief is being filed in and the motion sides, according to a demo shown to Legaltech News during Legalweek earlier this month.

"Compose does list all arguments available to your side," said Casetext CEO Jake Heller. "The list is tailored to whether you support or oppose the motion, as well as to the jurisdiction you are in."

Currently, Compose allows a user to file a motion to quash a subpoena, exclude expert testimony, file a motion for protective order or compel discovery or disclosure.

Heller stressed Compose's automation isn't taking the lawyer out of brief writing. Rather, "it helps you put together your best possible brief by taking away some of the drudgery involved," he said.

That "drudgery" includes lawyers sifting through their firm's document management system for an example brief or motion, turning to treatises or practice guide books or leveraging various legal research platforms, he said.

Casetext is venturing into new, but not entirely unfamiliar territory with Compose. Casetext launched brief analyzer Case Analysis Research Assistant (CARA) in 2016 to allow users to drag and drop their legal briefs—and not just keywords—to search for missing arguments or case law.

In 2018, CARA was revamped to help users "contextualize the search experience to the facts, legal issues, jurisdictions and motion issues," Heller said at the time. By 2019, Casetext announced its first practice-specific tool with CARA Patent, which allows users to search patent-related documents against Casetext's database of court and Patent Trial and Appeal Board filings with a similar drag-and-drop function.

CARA's release was followed by Bloomberg Law and Thomson Reuters announcing automated brief analyzer releases in 2019.

Heller said Casetext decided to expand from legal research because the company saw how much time litigators spent researching and drafting briefs under looming deadlines. Automating some of the legal brief writing workflow allows lawyers to focus on the essential aspects of the brief and have the biggest impact, he said.

"Some people hear automation and their initial reaction is, 'Oh, that's impossible or will that take away from my voice.' But once they engage with the product, the automation isn't something that takes away but supplements what they can do and empowers them to be the best lawyer they can be."

Compose's automation also fuels cost predictability that can enable law firms to provide services at a flat fee, Heller added.