New feature identifies cases which are contrary to an opponent’s arguments

This week Thomson Reuters released another feature to Quick Check. How much easier can cite checking get? Quick Check Contrary Authority helps lawyers zero in on vulnerabilities of an opponents brief. Quick Check Contrary Authority identifies uncited cases that oppose the arguments in an opponent’s brief.

Quick Check Thomson Reuters brief checking tool was released as part of Westlaw Edge in July 2019. In 2020 Quick Check Judicial was launched which allows judges to compare the citations in up to six different briefs or motions.

According to the press release, Quick Check Contrary Authority offers to help lawyers quickly locate cases which “may be helpful in arguing against the opponent’s filing and prioritizes them in the results.” The new feature highlights details of the recommended cases, and allows lawyers to quickly review tags indicating if a recommended case originated from the same type of motion or contains contrary authority. The new citation tags highlight negative aspects of authority cited by the opponent.

“In working with customers to better understand their pain points in legal research and where we could uniquely help, we identified an opportunity to ‘jumpstart’ a response to the other side’s filing,” explained Carol Jo Lechtenberg, senior director, Westlaw Product Management. Lechtenberg added, “When attorneys receive a brief or memo from the opposition, they’re often starting from scratch. Researchers go through a time-consuming process to understand the arguments being made, review the authority relied upon to ensure that it’s good law and appropriate for the position asserted, determine the accuracy and context of quoted language, craft responses to the arguments made, and review cases to support arguments that counter the opposition. Quick Check Contrary Authority Identification accelerates that process and adds another level of confidence.”

Here is a link to the full press release.