How Bowman and Brooke LLP significantly enhanced their efficiency and document quality.

BriefCatch Case Study: Bowman & Brooke LLP Uses BriefCatch to Ride Waves of Civil Cases During Pandemic

As COVID-19 swept across the country, courthouses were forced to shut their doors. To maintain access to justice, federal, state, and municipal court systems moved swiftly to digitize processes and accommodate remote proceedings. By March 2020, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. began adopting statewide and local rules to govern digital operations, shifting civil court business online in two areas: moving to virtual hearings and digitizing practical tasks that litigants must complete before a hearing — such as preparing and tendering court documents.

The move to technology has made it much easier for litigants to file cases in bulk, leading to a surge in new cases and adding to a nationwide backlog of cases that already existed before the pandemic. The surge in cases has hit trial firms exceptionally hard, forcing civil defense attorneys to find new workflows and new technology tools to work faster and more efficiently.

One such firm, Bowman and Brooke LLP, is actively meeting the challenge with fresh thinking and carefully selected technology. A nationally recognized law firm with one of the largest product liability practices in the country, the firm was recently ranked by Chambers USA for the twelfth consecutive year in the Nationwide Product Liability & Mass Tort category, which cited the firm’s “dedicated product liability defense firm, fielding a deep trial bench.”

“We’re constantly working to increase our efficiency,” says Chris Austin, the firm’s director of information governance. “With the wave of civil cases, firms have really had to look at the way they bring cases to court.”

While many firms have focused on e-filing and virtual proceedings, Bowman and Brooke has also looked for more efficient ways to write briefs.

“As the number-one civil defense firm in the country, Bowman and Brooke has some of the smartest attorneys. But no matter how smart you are, it takes technology to keep up with technology,” said Austin.
“Saving time writing briefs and contracts using AI makes our attorneys highly productive, gives them focus, helps them hit their deadlines, and it saves clients money.”

To help meet this need, the firm standardized on BriefCatch, a Microsoft Word add-in that offers editing suggestions in real time. BriefCatch not only catches common mistakes but also gives feedback on readability and flow, and generates a tailored report and quality score.

Incorporating over 11,000 explanations and examples from top lawyers and judges, BriefCatch is based on the work of legal writing coach Ross Guberman—a bestselling author and the judiciary’s choice to train new federal judges.

“Efficient writing is really at the heart of lawyer and firm success,” says Guberman.
“BriefCatch features the latest in natural language processing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to help make writing easier.”

Because it’s built by lawyers for lawyers, BriefCatch is simple yet effective. Amanda Heitz, a partner at Bowman and Brooke, is an enthusiastic proponent:

“Effective and efficient legal writing is one of my top practice priorities. BriefCatch is one of my favorite tools because it makes me a better writer and helps me train junior attorneys to be better writers, all while saving clients money.
In seconds, BriefCatch can perform a strong first-round edit that would take me an hour or more to do by hand.”

Heitz adds that BriefCatch is teaching her to write better initial drafts:

“Over time, I have internalized common BriefCatch edits to make my first draft stronger. Now, before associates submit any written work product to me for review, I tell them they must run BriefCatch and revise their work until each of their scores is green.
This way, I can devote my time (and the client resources that come with it) to reviewing and refining substantive legal arguments.”

Austin sums it up:

“Bowman and Brooke uses sophisticated technology at nearly all stages of litigation, including artificial intelligence research systems and powerful legal analytics.
BriefCatch takes the timeless craft of legal writing and not only makes it more efficient but also improves quality.
These subtle writing articulations can often be the overriding factor for an attorney.”

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