There are a few different ways to run a search of a legal research database. You might use natural language search to enter a few terms that describe what you’re looking for, or to ask the search engine a question (the same way you would phrase a question to a person).
Boolean search (also known as terms and connectors search) involves using a few specific words and symbols to tell the search engine specifically what you do and do not want it to return. You can use Boolean search when you want stricter control over the types of results you see — for example, if you only want to see cases that include 2 phrases, or cases that do include phrase #1 but do not include phrase #2.
(There is also a third way to conduct legal research, via document-based search. With Casetext CARA A.I., for example, you can upload a document from your litigation, like a brief or complaint, and the search engine will use that to understand what you’re looking for. Click here to start a free trial of Casetext to try running a document-based search.)
Terms and connectors are supported by most legal research platforms, including Westlaw, LexisNexis, Bloomberg Law, and Casetext.
| TERM | HOW DOES IT WORK? | EXAMPLE |
| AND | Shows you results where both search terms appear | fraud AND damages → This one might be obvious, but as you might guess, it will only show you cases where the word fraud and the word damages both appear. It will not show you cases that include only one of these terms. |
| OR | Shows you results where at least one of your search terms appears. You can use this to account for synonyms | car OR automobile → This would show you cases that include either the word car or the word automobile (or both). |
| NOT | Excludes cases that use the word after NOT | infringement NOT patent → This would show you cases that do use the word infringement, but do not use the word patent. |
| “ “ | Searches for an exact match of the quotations | “Due diligence” → This would find you cases that search for exactly what’s in the quotation marks: the phrase due diligence (as opposed to cases where the word due and the word diligence both appear). |
| ( ) | Groups search terms | Appeal AND (verdict OR judgment) → This would search for cases which include the word appeal as well as one or both of verdict and judgment |
| * | Wildcard — allows for different letters to fill where the asterisk is | Withdr*w → This would search for cases that have any word with a letter where the asterisk is (e.g. cases that have either withdraw or withdrew) |
| ! | Root expander — allows for different endings to the word | Infring! → This would search for cases that have any word that starts with infring (e.g. infringe, infringement, infringed) |
| /n | Proximity search — looks for search terms within N words of each other (to use this search technique, replace n with the number of words) | Investor /5 diligence → This would look for cases that have the word diligence within 5 words of the word investor. |
| /s | Proximity search — looks for search terms appearing within the same sentence | Fees /s reasonable → This would look for cases where the word fees and the word reasonable appear in the same sentence as each other at least once. |
| /p | Proximity search — looks for search terms appearing within the same paragraph | Admissible /p warrant → This would look for cases where the words admissible and warrant appear within the same paragraph at least once. |
Rapidly draft common legal letters and emails.
How this skill works
Specify the recipient, topic, and tone of the correspondence you want.
CoCounsel will produce a draft.
Chat back and forth with CoCounsel to edit the draft.
Get answers to your research questions, with explanations and supporting sources.
How this skill works
Enter a question or issue, along with relevant facts such as jurisdiction, area of law, etc.
CoCounsel will retrieve relevant legal resources and provide an answer with explanation and supporting sources.
Behind the scenes, Conduct Research generates multiple queries using keyword search, terms and connectors, boolean, and Parallel Search to identify the on-point case law, statutes, and regulations, reads and analyzes the search results, and outputs a summary of its findings (i.e. an answer to the question), along with the supporting sources and applicable excerpts.
Get answers to your research questions, with explanations and supporting sources.
How this skill works
Enter a question or issue, along with relevant facts such as jurisdiction, area of law, etc.
CoCounsel will retrieve relevant legal resources and provide an answer with explanation and supporting sources.
Behind the scenes, Conduct Research generates multiple queries using keyword search, terms and connectors, boolean, and Parallel Search to identify the on-point case law, statutes, and regulations, reads and analyzes the search results, and outputs a summary of its findings (i.e. an answer to the question), along with the supporting sources and applicable excerpts.
Get a thorough deposition outline in no time, just by describing the deponent and what’s at issue.
How this skill works
Describe the deponent and what’s at issue in the case, and CoCounsel identifies multiple highly relevant topics to address in the deposition and drafts questions for each topic.
Refine topics by including specific areas of interest and get a thorough deposition outline.
Ask questions of contracts that are analyzed in a line-by-line review
How this skill works
Allows the user to upload a set of contracts and a set of questions
This skill will provide an answer to those questions for each contract, or, if the question is not relevant to the contract, provide that information as well
Upload up to 10 contracts at once
Ask up to 10 questions of each contract
Relevant results will hyperlink to identified passages in the corresponding contract
Get a list of all parts of a set of contracts that don’t comply with a set of policies.
How this skill works
Upload a set of contracts and then describe a policy or set of policies that the contracts should comply with, e.g. "contracts must contain a right to injunctive relief, not merely the right to seek injunctive relief."
CoCounsel will review your contracts and identify any contractual clauses relevant to the policy or policies you specified.
If there is any conflict between a contractual clause and a policy you described, CoCounsel will recommend a revised clause that complies with the relevant policy. It will also identify the risks presented by a clause that does not conform to the policy you described.
Get an overview of any document in straightforward, everyday language.
How this skill works
Upload a document–e.g. a legal memorandum, judicial opinion, or contract.
CoCounsel will summarize the document using everyday terminology.
Find all instances of relevant information in a database of documents.
How this skill works
Select a database and describe what you're looking for in detail, such as templates and precedents to use as a starting point for drafting documents, or specific clauses and provisions you'd like to include in new documents you're working on.
CoCounsel identifies and delivers every instance of what you're searching for, citing sources in the database for each instance.
Behind the scenes, CoCounsel generates multiple queries using keyword search, terms and connectors, boolean, and Parallel Search to identifiy the on-point passages from every document in the database, reads and analyzes the search results, and outputs a summary of its findings (i.e. an answer to the question), citing applicable excerpts in specific documents.
Get a list of all parts of a set of contracts that don’t comply with a set of policies.
Ask questions of contracts that are analyzed in a line-by-line review
Get a thorough deposition outline by describing the deponent and what’s at issue.
Get answers to your research questions, with explanations and supporting sources.