One of the most critical and non-negotiable tasks of a lawyer is legal research. However, legal research has been infamously a time-consuming task, requiring hours on end to find relevant references that can support even the smallest of arguments. While there have been numerous improvements in the legal research sector to simplify the process, the task remains predominantly dependent on a lawyer’s research skills as well as a preliminary level of prior knowledge about what he or she is hoping to find.
On top of this, the rapidly multiplying data of case laws getting added every day adds to this challenge, making it a “wild goose chase”. For years, lawyers in India have depended on legal databases like Manupatra and SCCOnline for their legal research requirements. However, next-generation research tools and AI-powered platforms have paved a freeway for automation in legal information analysis.
Content
Impact of Manupatra and SCCOnline on India’s Legal Sector
Evolution of Legal Research: A Step Forward from Manupatra and SCCOnline
Indian Legal AI / Legal Research Startups
Conclusion: Are Manupatra and SCCOnline Replaceable?
Impact of Manupatra and SCCOnline on India’s Legal Sector
Manupatra and SCCOnline have enjoyed sovereignty for years when it comes to the legal research requirements of Indian lawyers. Before these platforms, lawyers faced grave difficulties in finding reliable and usable legal information for their cases.
The problem intensified since there were no unified sources for Indian cases laws. Further, the available court judgments were unstructured and incomplete, also making it difficult to confirm the information’s actual source. The entry of Manupatra and SCCOnline created a pay-per-search or subscription model for lawyers to access a streamlined legal database.
Most consider these platforms to be the best legal databases for Indian lawyers and law students. However, when one assesses closely, the model comes out to be costlier than the end solutions users get. Lawyers have to pay large sums for subscribing or purchasing modules for different courts.
While big law firms can afford this cost, smaller firms and individual lawyers may find it difficult to bear the price. Further, the search model requires lawyers to use their practical knowledge and choose the right keywords to find results. It may prevent them from finding the exact reference they are looking for unless they run the search multiple times.
Evolution of Legal Research: A Step Forward from Manupatra and SCCOnline
With large volumes of data, lawyers need to go through multiple resources to find supporting information for their cases. The data is not limited to case laws anymore. The internet is filled with hidden data that may be relevant to a case. Artificial Intelligence (AI) solves the problem of finding and sifting through this pile of data.
AI-powered legal research involves computer systems and software that use natural language processing (NLP) to find relevant search results for lawyers. These systems do not rely on pre-programmed commands such as in cases of keyword-based research, but artificially intelligent systems that learn and get better with time and repeated use. NLP utilises previous queries and searches of a user to create a predictive model of results. It fills in the search gap and narrows down the results to produce precise answers.
AI tools also cut down the time taken to execute legal research and saves lawyers hours of time otherwise spent on unproductive trial and error methods of landing on the perfect case law. They can in turn utilise this time to strategise or otherwise in other high value activities which ultimately result in better overall representation of their clients. Clients benefit too as they get better and faster services from their attorneys, sometimes even at a lower cost.
Indian Legal AI / Legal Research Startups
Legal research platforms generally do not provide features like keyword-less results, daily case alerts or case summaries. However, new players in the legal research and AI arena address this gap by providing a bouquet of search features.
Let’s have a look at some of the best AI-powered legal research tools in India:
LegalMind
LegalMind is an AI-powered legal research tool. Its Analytics tool predicts the actions of judges and parties to build compelling arguments. The LM-AI document summariser allows lawyers to find results from heaps of unstructured legal text.
It also has an AI-based Deeplex that allows lawyers to find case laws based on legal briefs, judgments and moot case documents.
The tools are available with a standard and premium plan, along with a 14-days trial.
LegitQuest
LegitQuest is also an AI-based legal search engine that allows users to find relevant legal data in seconds.
The platform has an iDRAF tool, i.e., “Decision Reasoning Arguments Findings”. iDRAF separates elements of judgments such as issue, arguments, reasoning, and decision for more detailed insights. It also offers iGraphics, a tool that compresses legal matters into figures and charts for easier understanding and better insights.
The tool is free with limited uses and comes with a trial, personal and enterprise plans.
Casemine
Casemine offers an AI-powered CaseIQ tool along with various other legal practice management solutions. CaseIQ provides appropriate search results directly from case briefs, notes court judgements and even URLs. This way, it eliminates the needs for lawyers to rephrase and search case facts to find the required answers.
Pensieve
Pensieve’s Mitra is a legal research platform that uses artificial intelligence to simplify legal research for lawyers. The tool automatically understands the background and significance of a query and provides appropriate search recommendations. It uses text analytics to break down complex documents such as court judgments, laws, contracts, notices, and circulars.
mLeAP
mLeAP is also a legal research platform for lawyers in India that harnesses the power of machine learning and natural language to streamline legal research and analysis.
The tool does not require a user to feed specific keywords to find relevant information.
It also allows users to find out important keywords, ideas and relations mentioned in a legal document. Its Judgment Research feature allows users to find relevant information and concepts in lengthy judgements.
Conclusion: Are Manupatra and SCCOnline Replaceable?
Since the legal system is very research-heavy, lawyers need precise data to make decisions. The challenge is to find the right solutions that help legal professionals discover this data faster and more affordably.
Since much of this information is scattered across the web with low discoverability, legal professionals need more than legal databases. Artificial intelligence provides a way out. By consuming big chunks of data, learning from it, recognizing patterns, and giving more than just data but actual knowledge and insight, artificially intelligent legal research tools will undoubtedly be the next gold standard in the way lawyers, legal professionals, and clients wade through case laws.
While tools like Manupatra and SCCOnline aren’t going anywhere and will remain the go-to choice for traditional legal professionals, AI-based legal research tools are here to stay and will see more adoption by more and more lawyers in the near future.
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