By the end of this guide you will have taken a legal question from a plain-language description to a short research memo whose every authority you have opened and checked. To do legal research with AI you use a research assistant that searches case law, statutes or regulations, summarizes what it finds and links the sources, and then you verify those sources yourself.
The AI speeds up finding and reading. It does not make you the final check. A legal citation that looks right can still point to a case that says something different, so the verification step in this guide is the most important one. The tools below come from our Research and search category.
Key takeaways
- Frame a narrow question and jurisdiction, search with an AI research tool that links its sources, open every cited case, and check later treatment before you rely on it.
- The main decision is the tool type: a case law research platform (VERDICT, Midpage), a drafting-centred assistant for attorneys (Paxton), a large legal and news publisher (LexisNexis), or a policy tracker (Rescript).
- Prices range from a free plan with daily query limits to $499 per user per month, and several vendors publish no price at all.
- Nothing here is legal advice. A qualified lawyer should check the research before it is used for a real matter.
What you need before you start
- A precise question. The facts, the jurisdiction and what outcome you need to support.
- Your documents. Contracts, pleadings or notes you may want to upload, with confidential details removed unless the tool's terms allow them.
- An account. Some tools offer a free plan or trial; others need a demo or a sales quote.
- Time. A first research pass takes under an hour. Verifying the authorities takes longer.
- Difficulty. Moderate. Legal training helps you judge whether a case is on point.
- Confidentiality. Check how the tool treats what you type. VERDICT, for example, states that content submitted is not protected by attorney-client privilege.
Which kind of AI tool fits this job
Choose by who you are and what kind of law you need.
Case law research platforms. VERDICT lets you ask a legal question in plain language, searches a case law database and summarizes how courts have ruled in similar situations. Midpage is built for litigators working with US primary law: you search case law, statutes, regulations and agency guidance yourself or ask an AI research agent, then open the cited sources. It also has a cite checker and an AI citator showing how later courts treated an opinion.
An assistant that works inside a matter. Paxton is for attorneys and legal teams. It keeps the matter's files and jurisdiction in context, researches US federal and state statutes, regulations and case law at the appellate level and above, and drafts contracts, letters or pleadings. An AI Citator shows the cases a result relies on.
An established publisher with an AI layer. LexisNexis offers Protégé, an AI assistant for conversational search and summaries, across products that include Shepard's citation analysis and practical guidance. Prices are not listed, so you need a quote.
A conversational assistant for general questions. AI Lawyer answers legal questions in a chat in any language, with a Docs area to summarize and compare documents. It suits understanding a situation more than building a brief.
A policy and regulation tracker. Rescript follows bills, hearings, rules and comment periods across jurisdictions and can build 50-state surveys. It fits regulatory and government affairs work rather than case-by-case litigation research.
Step 1: Define the question and the jurisdiction
A narrow question gets a usable answer; a vague one gets a survey of the law.
- Write the key facts in two or three sentences without names.
- State the jurisdiction (federal, a state, or several) and the court level that matters.
- Phrase the issue as a question: "Is X enforceable if Y?".
- List what you already know, such as a statute or a case you have been given.
Check it worked by asking whether a colleague could research the question from your note alone.
Step 2: Choose a tool that covers your law
Coverage is the first filter, so check it before you pay.
- Confirm the tool covers your jurisdiction. Midpage covers US law only, with statutes and regulations covering federal law plus 46 states. Paxton's case law coverage is appellate level and above.
- Check what is included. Midpage's listing says secondary sources are not included.
- Compare cost and caps in the table below. VERDICT's free plan allows 10 queries a day.
- Decide whether you need a tool that also drafts, or only one that researches.
Check it worked by confirming, in the vendor's own description, that your jurisdiction and source type are covered.
Step 3: Ask the research question
Now put the question to the tool in plain language.
- Paste or type your question with the jurisdiction in the first sentence.
- Ask for the governing rule, then for cases that applied it.
- Ask a follow-up for contrary authority, since you need to see the other side.
- Keep the tool's answer, but treat it as a list of leads, not as the law.
Check it worked by seeing linked sources beside each statement in the answer.
Step 4: Open and read every source
This is the step that separates research from guessing.
- Click each cited case, statute or rule and read the passage that supports the claim.
- Confirm the court, the date and the holding match what the AI said.
- Note the exact quotation and page or paragraph you plan to cite.
- Discard any citation you cannot open and read for yourself.
Check it worked by finding every authority you plan to use in the source itself, with the quoted language present.
Step 5: Check later treatment and citations
A case that was good law when decided may not be today.
- Use the tool's citator. Midpage describes an AI citator showing later treatment with reasoning and quotations, Paxton an AI Citator with an AI view of case standing, and LexisNexis lists Shepard's citation analysis.
- Read the later cases that criticize or limit your authority.
- Run the cite checker on a draft if the tool has one. Midpage lists cite checking for the citations in a draft.
- Confirm any statute or rule is the current version.
Check it worked by being able to say whether each authority is still good law, and why.
Step 6: Compare across jurisdictions or track changes
Some questions turn on how different places treat the issue, or on rules still moving.
- For cross-jurisdiction work, VERDICT's Expert plan lists deep case analysis and cross-jurisdiction comparison.
- For pending bills and rules, use a tracker such as Rescript, which shows what changed between bill versions and groups public comments by theme.
- Record the date you ran each search, since the law and the tools' databases both change.
Check it worked by having a short table of jurisdictions, authorities and dates.
Step 7: Draft the memo and have a lawyer review it
Write up the result in your own voice, with the authorities checked.
- Start with the question, the short answer, and then the reasoning.
- Use the tool's drafting mode if it has one, such as Paxton's assistant or Midpage's drafting mode (billed by usage after $25 of free credits each month), but treat the draft as a first version.
- Rewrite any sentence you cannot support with a source you have read.
- Have a qualified lawyer review the memo before it informs a filing, advice or a decision.
Check it worked by reading the memo with the source open and finding no unsupported statement.
Tools for this job compared
| Tool | Good fit for | Pricing | Stated limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| VERDICT | Plain-language case law questions and document drafting, on the web | Freemium, paid from $20/mo (checked 24 Oct 2026) | Not legal advice; queries not protected by privilege; Free plan allows 10 queries a day |
| Midpage | US litigation research with cite checking, on web and API | Free trial, paid from $25/mo (checked 24 Oct 2026) | US law only; secondary sources not included; API access not part of Professional or Law Student |
| Paxton | Attorneys researching and drafting inside a matter | Free trial, paid from $499/mo (checked 24 Oct 2026) | Web only; case law at appellate level and above; purchases non-refundable |
| LexisNexis | Established legal research with an AI assistant | Contact sales | Prices not published; multi-user plans need a sales quote; integrations vary by product |
| AI Lawyer | General legal questions in a chat, on web, iOS and Android | Free trial | 5 free queries or a 24-hour trial after sign-up; prices shown only in the app or at checkout |
| Rescript | Tracking bills, rules and hearings across jurisdictions | Contact sales | Federal and state legislative and regulatory material only; pricing quoted by sales |
Prices and plan limits change, so confirm the current terms on each vendor's site before you subscribe.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Citing a case you have not read. AI tools can summarize a case inaccurately, and a link is not proof that it supports your point. Fix it by opening every authority and reading the passage.
- Skipping the check on later treatment. A decision may have been overturned or limited. Fix it by using a citator and reading the cases that cite your authority.
- Researching the wrong jurisdiction. Coverage differs by tool, and Midpage is US only. Fix it by stating the jurisdiction in the question and confirming coverage first.
- Pasting confidential facts into the wrong tool. VERDICT says submitted content is not protected by attorney-client privilege. Fix it by anonymizing facts and reading each vendor's data terms before uploading client material.
- Treating the output as advice. VERDICT, for example, says it is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Fix it by having a qualified lawyer review anything that will be filed or relied on.
How we put this together
This is an evidence-based guide built from each tool's listing in our directory, which is compiled from the vendor's own site and pricing page. It is not a review based on using the tools. We don't rank tools, and nobody paid to be included. Some outbound links may be affiliate links; see our disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free way to do legal research with AI?
Partly. VERDICT has a Free plan with 10 queries a day and 500K tokens a month, and AI Lawyer gives 5 free queries or a 24-hour trial after sign-up. Midpage offers a two-week free trial. Free access is limited, and none of it replaces checking the sources.
Can AI do legal research accurately?
It can find leads quickly, but it can be wrong, so every authority needs to be opened and read. Tools that link to cited sources and offer a citator make checking easier. A lawyer should review the result before it is used for a filing or for advice.
Does AI legal research replace a lawyer?
No. VERDICT states that it is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Use AI to speed up finding and reading the law, and use a qualified lawyer to apply it to your facts.
How much does AI legal research software cost?
It varies widely. Midpage's Professional plan is $100 per seat each month, or $80 monthly when billed annually, and its Law Student plan is $25 per month. Paxton's Individual plan is $499 per user per month. LexisNexis does not list prices.
Can I keep my client information private?
Read each vendor's terms first. Paxton states SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA compliance, and AI Lawyer says uploaded data is not sold or used for AI training. VERDICT says submissions are not protected by attorney-client privilege, so remove identifying details from anything you enter.
Compare more options in our Research and search category.
