Legal Analytics Company Trellis Unveils AI Tools Designed to Streamline Litigation Workflows

In
a
move
that
marries
a
massive
database
of
state
litigation
data
with
the
generative
capabilities
of
artificial
intelligence,

Trellis,
a
legal
technology
company
known
for
its
analytics
tools
and
extensive
collection
of
state
trial
court
records,
today
released

Trellis
AI,
a
new
set
of
generative
AI
tools
aimed
at
simplifying
litigation
tasks.

The
tools
are
designed
to
help
trial
court
litigators
save
time
and
enhance
productivity
on
common
tasks
such
as
motion
drafting,
case
analysis,
and
discovery
by
automating
much
of
the
manual
work
these
tasks
would
typically
involve.

In
a
demonstration
of
these
new
AI
features,
founder
and
CEO

Nicole
Clark
emphasized
that
they
build
on
Trellis’
core
strength,
which
is
its
database
of
millions
of
state
trial
court
motions,
rulings,
and
filings.
The
company
uses
this
data
to
train
AI
models
to
deliver
results
that
are
tailored
to
specific
jurisdictions
and
case
types,
resulting
in
outputs
that
promise
to
be
more
precise
and
relevant.

The
announcement
represents
a
notable
expansion
for
the
company,
as
it
moves
beyond
data
search
and
analytics
into
the
realm
of
AI-driven
litigation
support.

“What
we’re
doing
with
Trellis
AI
is
we
have
basically
a
legal
productivity
platform
that
is
built
on
top
of
all
this
data
as
a
foundation,”
Clark
said.
“And
we’re
building
this
specifically
for
trial
court
litigators,
so
this
is
using
the
court
system,
using
the
data
foundation
that
we
have,
to
build
products
and
output
that
litigators
can
actually
use.”

Motion
Drafting

The
AI
tools
released
today
fall
under
two
types,
Clark
said:
on-case
tools
that
generate
results
related
to
the
case
as
a
whole,
and
on-document
tools
that
perform
functions
specific
to
a
given
litigation
document.

Clark
says
she
is
most
excited
about
the
on-case
tools,
and
one
of
the
most
notable
of
those,
which
Trellis
calls
Draft
Arguments,
is
an
argument
drafting
tool
that
enables
lawyers
to
use
generative
AI
to
draft
motions
–
for
now,
motions
for
summary
judgment
and
motions
to
dismiss,
with
others
to
be
added
over
time.

Drawing
on
Trellis’
database
of
litigation
documents,
the
tool
uses
AI
to
identify
successful
arguments
from
cases
that
are
factually
and
legally
similar.
It
then
generates
a
draft
motion
tailoring
those
successful
arguments
to
the
facts
of
the
user’s
case.

To
create
a
draft,
an
attorney
starts
with
one
or
more
case
documents,
such
as
a
complaint
or
discovery
responses,
either
already
on
Trellis
or
that
the
attorney
uploads,
and
the
tool
will
search
Trellis’
database
for
cases
with
similar
facts.
It
then
analyzes
the
arguments
used
successfully
in
those
cases,
applies
them
to
the
uploaded
materials,
and
creates
a
draft
motion.

The
draft
motion
is
structured
in
a
standard
legal
format
and
includes
citations
to
relevant
case
law
and
statutes.
Each
argument
is
linked
to
its
source
document
so
that
the
attorney
can
view
the
document
and
verify
the
output.

As
of
today’s
launch,
this
tool
is
available
only
for
California
cases,
although
Trellis
plans
to
expand
it
to
other
jurisdictions.

Case
Assessment

Another
of
the
on-case
tools
released
today
is
a
case
assessment
feature
that
provides
a
detailed
overview
of
a
case,
producing
a
case
report
that
combines
factual,
legal,
and
strategic
analysis,
including
key
facts,
claims,
defenses,
potential
outcomes,
and
recommended
next
steps.

It
is
intended
to
serve
both
as
a
starting
point
for
litigators
at
the
beginning
of
a
case
and
as
a
playbook
and
reference
source
as
they
progress
through
the
stages
of
the
case.

Here
again,
the
user
would
start
with
the
complaint
or
any
additional
case
documents,
and
Trellis
AI
will
generate
a
report
that
includes:

• Summary
  of
  key
  facts
  and
  legal
  issues.
• Analysis
  of
  the
  causes
  of
  action,
  the
  evidence
  required
  to
  prove
  them,
  and
  gaps
  in
  the
  evidence.
• Recommended
  next
  steps,
  including
  potential
  defenses,
  procedural
  tactics
  and
  discovery.
• Witness
  preparation.
• Jury
  analysis,
  including
  demographic
  and
  verdict
  trends
  in
  the
  relevant
  jurisdiction.

Clark
anticipates
that
this
document
is
one
that
attorneys
will
continue
to
return
to
throughout
the
lifespan
of
a
case.
As
new
documents,
such
as
discovery
responses
or
deposition
transcripts,
are
added
as
the
case
progresses,
the
overview
can
be
refreshed
and
regenerated
to
reflect
the
additional
information.

This
feature
is
designed
to
help
attorneys
strategize
about
their
cases
while
also
keeping
track
of
immediate
deadlines
and
tasks.

Document
Analysis
Tools

Trellis
AI
also
includes
a
set
of
document-level
tools
for
analyzing
complaints
and
other
case
documents.
 These
include:

• Complaint
  Tools.
  These
  tools
  focus
  on
  the
  complaint,
  analyzing
  it
  and
  outlining
  the
  causes
  of
  action,
  key
  facts
  and
  relief
  sought,
  while
  also
  suggesting
  defenses
  to
  the
  causes
  of
  action
  and
  the
  statutes
  of
  limitations
  applicable
  to
  each.
• Document
  Analysis.
  This
  tool
  analyzes
  the
  arguments
  in
  a
  document,
  such
  as
  a
  motion,
  breaking
  down
  essential
  elements
  of
  the
  arguments
  and
  defenses,
  key
  evidence,
  gaps
  in
  evidence,
  key
  witnesses,
  and
  more.
• Review
  Tools.
  These
  tools
  can
  be
  used
  to
  create
  summaries
  of
  case
  documents,
  with
  options
  for
  brief
  or
  detailed
  outputs,
  and
  chronological
  timelines.
• Research/Writing
  Tools.
  These
  tools
  can
  extract
  citations
  for
  documents
  and
  key
  terms
  for
  conducting
  legal
  research.
  It
  also
  includes
  a
  tool
  for
  generating
  an
  email
  to
  update
  the
  client
  on
  developments
  in
  the
  case.

These
tools
can
be
used
with
documents
hosted
on
Trellis
or
uploaded
directly
by
the
user,
offering
flexibility
for
attorneys
working
with
external
case
materials.

‘Hundreds
of
Millions’
of
Documents

Trellis
differentiates
its
AI
from
other
legal
AI
tools
by
the
fact
that
it
leverages
its
proprietary
database
of
trial
court
documents.
This
allows
the
company
to
train
AI
models
that
are
specific
to
state
laws
and
procedural
rules,
reducing
errors
that
can
occur
when
using
broader,
less
focused
datasets.

“Trellis
is
uniquely
positioned
to
support
attorneys
within
the
very
court
system
where
their
cases
are
filed.”
Clark
said.
“Trellis
provides
access
to
hundreds
of
millions
of
motions
and
briefs,
representing
millions
of
hours
of
attorney
blood,
sweat,
and
tears
in
research
and
drafting.”

All
of
this
happens
with
workspaces
that
attorneys
can
create
for
each
case.
Users
can
create
workspaces
either
from
docket
documents
already
on
Trellis
or
by
uploading
documents
of
their
own.

To
ensure
transparency
and
to
enable
users
to
verify
results,
each
AI-generated
output
includes
citations
and
links
to
the
source
documents.

Trellis
AI
is
designed
to
enable
lawyers
to
use
its
features
at
the
click
of
a
button,
avoiding
chat-based
interfaces
that
require
users
to
become
prompt
engineers.

Trellis
says
that
it
adheres
to
strict
security
protocols.
All
uploaded
documents
are
encrypted
at
rest
and
align
with
SOC
2
standards,
it
says.

Bottom
Line

At
launch,
the
motion
drafting
tool
is
limited
to
California
cases.
Other
features,
such
as
document
analysis
and
discovery
tools,
are
not
specific
to
any
jurisdiction.
Trellis
plans
to
expand
its
motion
drafting
capabilities
to
other
jurisdictions,
starting
with
New
York,
Texas
and
Florida,
in
the
near
future.

Clark
said
that
feedback
from
beta
users
has
been
positive,
particularly
regarding
the
motion
drafting
and
case
assessment
tools.
Early
adopters
have
highlighted
the
potential
time
savings
and
the
ability
to
focus
more
on
strategy
by
automating
routine
tasks,
she
said.

I
have
not
directly
used
any
of
these
tools,
but
judging
by
the
demonstration
Clark
gave
me,
I
was
impressed
with
what
I
saw.
Particularly
impressive
were
the
on-case
tools
that
use
generative
AI
and
Trellis’
own
extensive
collection
of
litigation
data
to
suggest
arguments
and
strategies.

To
be
clear,
there
are
other
AI-driven
brief-drafting
tools
on
the
market.
But
the
fact
that
Trellis
AI
is
drawing
from
an
extensive
database
of
court
filings
seems
to
have
the
potential
to
be
particularly
powerful.

I
was
also
impressed
with
the
case
report
feature,
which
gets
quite
detailed
in
providing
analysis
of
causes
of
action
and
defenses,
facts
and
witnesses,
timelines,
tactics,
discovery
prep,
and
much
more.

We
should
all
know
the
mantra
by
now
that
AI
is
no
substitute
for
a
lawyer’s
judgment,
but
it
can
certainly
be
a
powerful
tool
for
bringing
together
and
organizing
the
information
that
supports
that
judgment.
That,
it
seems,
is
what
Trellis
AI
does
best.