ezBriefs by BENCHLY
Advanced Solutions for the Briefing Process

The realm of legal technology has advanced significantly in the last few years due to an increased reliability on new technologies, such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. This development has on one hand enhanced the productivity and efficiency of legal staffs, however on the other hand it has disrupted current workflows by forcing attorneys and their staffs to adapt to these new technologies while typically not being in an environment they are used to working in. To this end, BENCHLY, a legal technology development company, has created innovative tools to help attorneys greatly improve efficiencies in the briefing process, specifically for building Tables of Authorities and for reviewing opposing counsel’s briefs. These tools were built in a Microsoft Word Add-In to fit seamlessly into firm’s existing workflows. This solution, ezBriefs, allows legal professionals to instantly retrieve all cited authority within a brief, check the cited authority for accuracy, and generate a Table of Authorities, all in under 25 seconds. The ezBriefs Microsoft Word Add-In frees professionals from the monotonous task associated with handling one of the legal industry’s most complex documents. In an interview with CIO Applications, Zane Russell, CEO of BENCHLY, shares his insights on the company’s latest solution, the ezBriefs Microsoft Word Add-In, and how it saves valuable time and money for their clients.

Could you give us a brief overview of ezBriefs?

We have been creating innovative solutions for the legal space for over 10 years, from document review tools for eDiscovery, enhanced OCR and ICR, AI assisted case law research, to automation tools for the briefing process.

Of all the technologies we have developed in that time, I am most proud of ezBriefs.
The foundation of ezBriefs is our extensive case law database. We have over 9 million case law opinion documents dating back to the Court of Pennsylvania through present-day and add new documents daily. This allows us to provide unique capabilities for our clients whether they are creating a Table of Authorities or reviewing opposing counsel’s briefs.

Designed to streamline the workflow of attorneys, ezBriefs greatly reduces the time it takes to build a Table of Authorities as well as to review opposing counsel’s briefs. Our Microsoft Word Add-In allows attorneys to build a Table of Authorities in seconds. Additionally, it ensures that the brief is free from formatting issues before its submission to the court by automatically checking the cited authority for any inconsistencies between the authority cited in the brief and the actual case law it references. Creating Tables of Authorities typically takes upwards of an hour and a half. While LexisNexis claims to be able to reduce that time by 52% (down to 46.8 minutes), ezBriefs can check all cited authority and generate a Table of Authorities in a fraction of their time, all with one click of a button.

On the other side of the spectrum, we allow attorneys to upload opposing counsel’s briefs and motions directly from the Word Add-In (PDF or Word).

In the past when an attorney received a brief or motion from the court, they had to identify the case law within the document and go through a lengthy process just to be able to review opponents’ briefs and all subsequent law stemming from each case; with ezBriefs, we deliver a holistic solution that enables attorneys to both quickly and easily review and generate these documents. By uploading a document from the court, users can immediately find all cited authority, review the brief, and save or print the individual file to their preferred folder, simply within minutes. All of this is accomplished within the Word Add-In.
Please elaborate on the features and functionalities of your solutions and how they help attorneys in their practice.

ezBriefs works for attorneys on both sides of the litigation process, acting as both a “quarterback” and “receiver.” The quarterback is the individual creating the brief, while the receiver is the person that reviews the briefs from opposing counsel. Depending on the role, i.e., creator of the brief or reviewing opposing counsel’s brief, a person can sometimes be the quarterback and the receiver throughout a case. Therefore, we offer ezBriefs for both scenarios. Through our Microsoft Word Add-In, attorneys can generate a “One-Click” Table of Authorities or can start reviewing opposing counsel’s work faster by simply clicking the upload button, which enables them to review the cited case authority within the brief and the referenced case law documents instantaneously in a side-by-side viewer. ezBriefs possesses unprecedented applications for large firms that currently utilize Westlaw and LexisNexis for research and have many other features and capabilities for smaller firms that are looking for an end-to-end solution at an affordable price.

How will your new product add further value to your current offerings?

Our new product allows firms to export cited case authority directly into Westlaw and LexisNexis for easy validation. Our One Click TOA removes frustration and allows attorneys to do more high-value work for their clients instead of spending time doing this tedious process.

Our current offering enables our clients to upload PDFs or Word documents (through our website) to review opposing counsel’s briefs or motions. By incorporating our current offerings into our Microsoft Word Add-In, we are bringing our tools to the familiar environment that attorneys currently work in as opposed to asking them to come to us (via website).

In an interview with CIO Applications, Mark Van Eman, COO of BENCHLY, shares some customer success stories using ezBriefs.

Could you give us a customer success story?

A client was recently trying to file a brief. He had limited time to get it submitted as he needed to fly out of town for a meeting yet had to have it filed shortly after he landed. Our client needed help building a Table of Authorities as he had no assistance at that moment. He reached out to us and, through the use of ezBriefs, created a Table of Authorities instantly. However, as soon as he reached the airport, he was notified that his co-counsel had made a few changes to the document. The client had to start over, from scratch, with the clock ticking. Using the functionality of our Microsoft Word Add-In, he quickly re-generated the Table of Authorities from the airport and filed it with the court on time.

How does your solution help attorneys in embracing remote working during COVID?

Due to COVID, most organizations are requiring their staff to work from home. With limited assistance, attorneys are forced to do a majority of the actual legwork or menial tasks themselves. Rescuing attorneys from this situation, ezBriefs has reduced their time associated with the tasks that they do not enjoy. Our tools became more applicable in the current COVID situation, assisting attorneys with tedious tasks in the absence of staff they depend on.

What does the future look like for BENCHLY?

When someone subscribes to our service, they receive access to our case law database along with our ezBriefs tools. This bundling of products at an affordable rate is unprecedented in the legal industry, and we aim to change the way law firms approach the purchasing of these products. We are focusing our current efforts on delivering enhanced case law research capabilities from within our complete case law database. We plan on offering our case law research tools for free to all ezBriefs’ customers and for attorneys who are receiving a hyperlinked brief created internally within ezBriefs. For law schools and students, ezBriefs and our case law research platform is also available at no cost.