AI Platforms · Platform Profile
Clearbrief is a Microsoft Word add-in that checks every citation in a brief against the actual evidence and authority — verification-first AI used by firms, agencies, and courts themselves.
Clearbrief was founded in 2020 in Seattle by Jacqueline Schafer, a former Paul, Weiss litigator and Assistant Attorney General in Washington and Alaska. Its premise is narrower and more disciplined than most legal AI: rather than generating open-ended drafts, it connects legal writing to its underlying support and verifies that the two actually match.
Working inside Microsoft Word, Clearbrief analyzes a draft brief or motion against the record — exhibits, transcripts, discovery documents — and flags citations that do not match the cited evidence. It creates hyperlinked versions of filings so judges and opposing counsel can click through to sources, and generates litigation work product from the record: chronologies and timelines, Tables of Authorities, exhibit lists, and cross-examination outlines, with citation formatting in Bluebook and California style.
The positioning — 'cite facts, not fake cases' — has landed across the market: users range from solo firms to the Am Law 200, plus government agencies, arbitrators, and notably state and federal courts themselves. The company reports more than 3.2 million pleadings drafted with the platform since 2021, and won Legalweek's Litigation Technology of the Year in 2026, having also won in 2023.
Litigators broadly — solo and small firms through the Am Law 200, in-house disputes teams, government agencies, and courts and judges themselves. It is practice-area agnostic within litigation and used on both the plaintiff and defense sides. The published solo tier is $300 per user per month, with enterprise deployments custom-quoted.
| Vendor | Clearbrief, Inc. — independent, venture-backed |
|---|---|
| Founded / HQ | 2020; Seattle, WA |
| Founder | Jacqueline Schafer (CEO) — former Paul, Weiss litigator, former AAG (WA, AK) |
| Category | Citation verification and litigation drafting support (Word add-in) |
| Scale | 3.2M+ pleadings drafted with the platform since 2021 (company figure) |
| Funding | ~$8.2M total; $4M round June 2024 |
| Pricing | $300/user/month solo tier (published); enterprise custom |
| Key integrations | Microsoft Word (core), LexisNexis, Clio, Reveal e-discovery (2025) |
| Website | clearbrief.com |
Clearbrief layers onto an existing stack rather than replacing any of it: it lives inside Microsoft Word and connects to Clio, LexisNexis, and e-discovery platforms such as Reveal. That makes it one of the lower-friction AI adoptions in litigation — no migration, no new system of record.
In an era of sanctions for hallucinated citations, its verification-first design addresses the specific failure mode that has put AI-using lawyers in the news. Firms adopting generative drafting tools elsewhere in the stack sometimes pair them with Clearbrief as the check on the way out the door.
Its core is verification and record-linking — confirming every cite matches the evidence — but it also generates supporting work product: timelines, Tables of Authorities, exhibit lists, and hyperlinked filings.
It lives inside Microsoft Word and integrates with Clio, LexisNexis, and e-discovery platforms such as Reveal, so it layers onto the current stack rather than replacing it.
Hyperlinked filings are designed for judicial consumption, and Clearbrief is used by state and federal courts and arbitrators themselves.
A published solo tier runs $300 per user per month; larger deployments are custom-quoted.
Systems firms typically evaluate alongside Clearbrief — competitors, complements, and the adjacent layers of the same stack.
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This page is an independent editorial overview published by Maestro Strategic Partners, an operations and AI consultancy for plaintiff law firms. Maestro is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Clearbrief, Inc. Clearbrief and related marks are the property of their respective owners; they are used here for identification only. Product details verified as of July 2026 and may have changed — confirm specifics with the vendor.
