Precedent

Precedent: AI Powered Legal Research is a comprehensive legal research tool powered by artificial intelligence. The platform is designed to...

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What is Precedent?

Precedent AI is an AI-powered legal research tool designed for litigators, in-house counsel, and legal practitioners who need fast, reliable case law discovery and motion-ready quotes. The tool instantly navigates millions of cases, briefs, and articles to find precise answers with page-accurate citations, all in a single search. It serves as a focused copilot for precedent discovery and drafting, helping lawyers find controlling cases and citable reasoning in minutes rather than hours.

Key features include curated precedent packs (topic- and jurisdiction-specific collections like restrictive covenants, trade secrets, wage & hour), standardized case cards for every opinion showing citation/court/year/disposition/holding/rule/key facts, 2-5 verbatim quotes with exact pincites, treatment signals (followed/criticized/limited/distinguished), and topic tags. The corpus consists of published appellate opinions from selected jurisdictions from 1990 to present plus key anchors. Users can search in plain English without legal jargon or Boolean queries, and every response is based on real, verifiable legal decisions.

Precedent AI targets litigators, in-house counsel, and practitioners who need fast case pulls and motion-ready quotes, particularly those who prefer opening a focused copilot first before validating in Westlaw/Lexis. The tool emphasizes no hallucinations (only outputs quotes matching the opinion's bytes with page numbers), time to first on-point case under 30 seconds, and narrow scope with high authority for predictable results.

Precedent pricing

Pricing model: Free

Affordable, transparent pricing that respects small firm budgets. The website states 'Affordable, transparent pricing' but does not publish specific dollar amounts. It is positioned as cost-effective compared to Westlaw/Lexis for niche tasks. No free tier is mentioned for casual users, though demo or trial access may be available for law firms.

Precedent pros

  • Time to first on-point case under 30 seconds
  • Page-accurate pincites for every quote
  • No hallucinations - only verified citations
  • Plain English search without Boolean queries
  • Standardized case cards with holding, disposition, procedural posture
  • 2-5 verbatim quotes per case with exact pincites
  • Treatment signals showing followed/criticized/limited/distinguished
  • Curated precedent packs for specific topics and jurisdictions
  • Motion-ready drafting snippets
  • Curated corpus from 1990 to present plus key anchors
  • Topic tags for non-compete, non-solicit, sale-of-business, choice-of-law
  • Cost-effective for niche legal research tasks
  • Simpler and faster than Westlaw/Lexis for narrow tasks
  • Real legal reasoning you can verify
  • Updated in near real time with recent cases and rulings

Precedent cons

  • Does not include statutes, regulations, or secondary sources in MVP
  • Narrow initial scope - only CA Supreme/Ct. App. and 9th Cir. applying CA law
  • Not a replacement for full-stack tools like Westlaw/Lexis
  • Users must still confirm treatment in Westlaw/Lexis
  • No free tier for casual users mentioned
  • May require training to maximize value
  • Primarily suits law professionals, not non-law users
  • Breadth limited until precision standard can be maintained

Frequently asked questions about Precedent

What is Precedent AI?

Precedent AI is an AI-powered search tool and copilot for legal professionals that helps find on-point precedent with page-accurate citations. It instantly navigates millions of cases, briefs, and articles to find precise answers and citations in one search, without hallucinations or bloat.

How does Precedent AI differ from generic LLMs?

Generic LLMs write fluent answers but routinely invent citations. Precedent AI only outputs quotes that match the opinion's bytes and attaches page numbers. If verification isn't possible, the quote isn't shown. This ensures no hallucinations and trustworthy citations.

What is the corpus Precedent AI uses?

The corpus consists of curated, published appellate opinions from selected jurisdictions from 1990 to present plus key anchors. The MVP starts with published, precedential CA Supreme Court, CA Court of Appeals, and 9th Cir. cases applying CA law.

What is a precedent pack?

A precedent pack is a topic- and jurisdiction-specific collection where Precedent AI can guarantee high recall and precision. Examples include restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and wage & hour. The tool launches with tightly scoped packs and expands based on demand.

What does a case card include?

Each opinion renders as a standardized case card including: citation/court/year, disposition and procedural posture, issues and holding (1-2 sentences), rule/test (controlling standard), key facts (material only), 2-5 verbatim quotes with pincites, statutes referenced, treatment (followed/criticized/limited/distinguished), and topic tags.

Does Precedent AI replace Westlaw or Lexis?

No. Precedent AI is a copilot for precedent discovery and drafting. Users should still confirm treatment and explore statutes and secondary sources in their full-stack tool like Westlaw or Lexis. It is the fast, focused layer lawyers open first before validating.

Who is Precedent AI designed for?

Precedent AI is designed for litigators, in-house counsel, and practitioners who need fast, reliable case pulls and motion-ready quotes. It is especially useful for users who prefer to open a focused copilot first, then validate in Westlaw/Lexis.

How fast is Precedent AI?

Time to first on-point case is under 30 seconds. The tool gets users to controlling authority and citable reasoning faster than anything else, cutting hours of manual reading into seconds or minutes instead of days.

What jurisdictions does Precedent AI cover initially?

The MVP starts with published, precedential CA Supreme Court, CA Court of Appeals, and 9th Circuit cases applying California law. The tool will expand to adjacent topics and jurisdictions based on demand while maintaining precision standards.

Why does Precedent AI use narrow scope?

Narrow, well-curated corpora produce higher precision, trustworthy citations, and faster time-to-answer. Precedent AI expands breadth only when it can maintain this standard of high recall and precision for guaranteed results.

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