Step One: Apply Modern TechnologyStep Two: Earn Bonus On Way To Happy Hour

There has to be a better way to do legal research, right?

Good-looking, right? Though David Lat was talking about Ravel founder Daniel Lewis, recently honored as one of Forbes’s 30 under 30 for law and policy, the flattery suits Ravel’s Stanford-designed interface even more aptly. Said Lat: “If you’re not familiar with Ravel, you should be.”

These beautiful bubbles are just one way innovative and efficient associates finish research early and float off to happy hour. Ravel is one of several advanced technologies that will help you enjoy being a lawyer.

You know the drill: “I have a quick research assignment,” says every litigation partner ever, as the clock slips into late-afternoon. “It shouldn’t take more than three hours.” Goodbye happy hour?

The bad news first: even in the stone bronze New Testament age of legal research where you live, this will take more than three hours. This “quick” request is a time-warping wormhole to a case law research wasteland. (“Hurry up please it’s time!” See T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land”; see also Book of Revelations). No surprise that a study conducted by the folks at Debevoise found that 36% of junior associate time is spent on research.

The good news: you can apply modern technology. As in recent innovations (read: since you finished law school, not just since Al Gore made the internet) that will truly make your life easier. Think of AI-driven case management co-pilots{1}, big data driven case law heads-up displays{2}, video guides for real-world lawyering{3}, and so many other clever tools that let you sleep in a little later, get done earlier, and improve the quality of your work product.

How many times has the legal research time-warp wormhole cancelled your evening plans this month?

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Why do partners think an all-night task will take “just half the afternoon”? They should know better, since they write off ¼ of the hours you bill on research, according to Blue Hill Research. The scientific answer: the lobes of their brains that once held youthful exuberance and empathy are now wallpapered with pages torn from the Federal Supplement relevant only to their practice group. In other words, they have a case law map where you have memes and nineties nostalgia. How do you grab a similar cheat sheet without prematurely aging your gray matter?

Remember (if you can) when people had to figure out how to go places without map apps? When going about so many other tasks — finding a restaurant, hailing a ride, scoring a date – we turn to the latest, cutting-edge technology. Why should legal research be any different?

While a partner might suggest cracking open Wexis and dusting off the Lexlaw to start your research, that’s the legal equivalent of trying to read the timetables before you know which train to take. Apply stainless steel atomic age modern technology and you might actually find your flow at work (dare I say enjoy it?). Combine that youthful frontal lobe of yours with technology, and start finding material even the partners missed.

Most lawyers are sluggish in adopting helpful technology, but that is more obiter dictum than ratio decidendi. And don’t wait for the judiciary to set the precedent before you start hacking your litigator lifestyle. The Supreme Court “hasn’t really gotten to email,” in the words of Justice Kagan—yes, the esteemed justices have “chambers aides” hand-deliver hand-drafted memoranda between them instead.

Fortunately, some whippersnapper judges of the Atari generation are buying rotating monitors and saying thanks-but-no-thanks to banker boxes stuffed with courtesy copy printed pleadings (though not all… there’s still hope for you, young Judge Chhabria. Although N.D. Cal. continues to require courtesy copies delivered by fossil-powered cargo plane or sweaty bike messenger each morning, Judge Rose (born 1972) and her district of S.D. Iowa generally don’t support tree murder.

When you have Article III life-tenure (or an ironclad partnership interest), there’s little incentive to change your approach. But change is coming, and nimble associates will lead the way.

Click to learn more about Ravel.


Kerry Kassam is a resourceful litigator and ruthless data scientist who thinks attorneys should hone their intuition with modern analytics. He is on Twitter: @QuantLaw