Legal Research Software That Starts Inside the Case File

Legal research software usually lives outside your matters: you leave the file, run searches, and paste findings back in. Caseagent researches from inside the case file and drafts issue-first memos where every authority carries a [VERIFY] flag until an attorney confirms it.

Run a research memo in the live demo

Exhibit A Issue-first workflow

Research that starts from the issues in your file

The agent has already read the matter, so research doesn't start with a blank query box. It starts with the legal issues your file actually raises. That's the point of putting the researcher inside legal case management software instead of beside it.

01

Issues come from the file. The agent reads pleadings, correspondence, and intake notes, then lists the legal questions the matter raises, in your jurisdiction's framing.

SPOT

02

Each issue becomes a research thread. The agent works through case law, statutes, and secondary sources per issue, keeping every finding tied to the facts that triggered it.

RESEARCH

03

Findings land as a memo, in the matter. Issue, rule, application to your facts, and open questions, filed alongside the documents it cites, not in a separate tool's history.

MEMO

04

You verify before anything relies on it. Every authority stays flagged [VERIFY] until a licensed attorney confirms it. Nothing unverified flows into a draft.

VERIFY

Exhibit B The hallucination problem

AI can invent citations. Here is how we treat that.

Courts have sanctioned lawyers for filing briefs with AI-invented cases. We designed the research feature around that failure mode instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

01

Never cites unverified authority

The agent does not present any case, statute, or regulation as settled. Every authority it surfaces is marked [VERIFY] and listed for attorney confirmation before it can be used in a draft.

02

Reasoning shown, not asserted

Memos separate what the file says (facts you can check against your own documents) from what the law may be (flagged findings). You always see which is which.

03

The attorney is the checkpoint

A research memo from Caseagent is a starting point for a licensed attorney, not legal advice and not a finished brief. That review step is built into the workflow, not left to habit. See how the agent loop works.

Exhibit C Output format

What a research memo looks like

An excerpt in the memo's format. This is a product illustration built on a fictional sample matter: the parties, facts, and authorities below are invented to show the structure, including how [VERIFY] flags appear.

RESEARCH MEMO · FICTIONAL SAMPLE

Rodriguez v. Hale Trucking (fictional sample matter) · Issue 2 of 4

2.0

Negligence per se. Does the driver's alleged hours-of-service violation support a negligence per se theory against Hale Trucking?

ISSUE

2.1

Statutory basis: federal hours-of-service rules for commercial drivers, 49 C.F.R. pt. 395 [VERIFY]. Confirm the current text and applicability to this vehicle class.

[VERIFY]

2.2

Candidate authority: Alvarez v. Kestrel Freight Co. [VERIFY], a fictional placeholder shown here as the agent would list a case for attorney confirmation, with citation, court, and year to check.

[VERIFY]

2.3

Facts from the file: driver's log entries and the police report reference a 14-hour shift on the day of the collision (see file docs 04, 11). Verifiable against your own documents.

FROM FILE

Product illustration · fictional matter and authorities · not legal advice

Exhibit D Honest comparison

Standalone research tools vs research in the file

Standalone legal research AI is genuinely good. The trade-off is where it lives, and what it can see.

Tool	Public price anchor	Research strength	Sees your case file
CoCounsel	~$225–$500/user/mo	Strong, purpose-built research AI	Only what you upload per task; no matters, deadlines, or client comms
Harvey	Enterprise-only, no public pricing	Powerful, priced for BigLaw	Not built as case management
Clio / MyCase AI features	$39–$139/user/mo + add-ons	Chat-style assistance; thin research	Yes, but the AI doesn't work the file
Caseagent early access	Planned: $149–$899/mo per firm	Issue-first memos, every authority [VERIFY]-flagged	Yes, it researches from inside the matter

If your firm already lives in a research platform, keep it. The question Caseagent answers is different: what happens when the researcher has already read the whole matter, including the chronology and issue list, and files its memo next to the documents it cites. Planned tiers are on the pricing page.

Exhibit E Plain answer

What is legal research software?

Legal research software helps lawyers find and analyze case law, statutes, and regulations relevant to a legal question. Traditional tools are search databases; newer AI research tools read a question and return analysis with cited authorities.

Caseagent's version is legal research built into case management: the agent researches the issues raised by a specific matter and files an issue-first memo inside it, with every authority flagged for attorney verification. It's a research aid for licensed attorneys, not legal advice.