News & Updates
New File & Serve eFiling System Rollout Delayed
The KBA has advised that the Kentucky Court of Justice (KCOJ) continues to work with Tyler Technologies to prepare for the implementation of its Enterprise Justice case management system and File & Serve eFiling platform. Originally, the KCOJ planned to roll out the new eFiling component of this initiative in October 2025, starting in Jefferson and Fayette Counties, with the remaining counties joining in subsequent phases. However, the AOC has advised that “due to additional and essential testing of the Tyler products, the October launch will be postponed (future roll-out date is yet to be announced).” For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the KCOJ’s eFiling page by clicking here: https://www.kycourts.gov/AOC/Information-and-Technology/Pages/File_Serve(eFiling).aspx
KBA Announces Free Trust Accounting & Billing Software
The Kentucky Bar Association recently announced a new, exclusive benefit for members: FREE access to Smokeball Bill, the premiere trust accounting and billing software for law firms.
This offer is designed to help KBA members manage trust accounting compliantly, bill easily, and get paid faster – so you spend less time accounting and more time practicing law.
You may click here to sign up for your free subscription today!
Revised AOC Legal Forms
In August, several AOC legal forms, including the AOC-280 Notice of Submission of Civil Matter for Final Adjudication, were revised. A complete list of all recently revised AOC legal forms can be viewed on the KCOJ website’s Legal Forms page. Additionally, all revised forms are available for immediate use on the KYeCourts website, in the KCOJ Forms app.
Practice Management
AI Platforms: What’s Out There?
As part of LMICK’s continued AI series, this month LMICK introduces and briefly discusses ten (10) AI platforms that are specifically geared towards lawyers and their practice. LMICK has repeatedly discussed and utilized ChatGPT in previous LMICK Minute Issues. ChatGPT is free with conditions placed on its usage (number of image creations within a time frame, for example). However, you can purchase a “professional” version of ChatGPT and other free platforms as well (Perplexity, Microsoft Autopilot, etc.).
However, the following AI platforms are advertised and marketed specifically for lawyers. Please note that LMICK is not endorsing any of the following platforms. Rather, LMICK is simply providing a cursory overview of what options may be out there since many of our insureds and readers have asked about the various types of platforms that exist outside of ChatGPT and the other “free” non-lawyer specific AI platforms. Please also understand that this list is by no means exhaustive as there are still other platforms available. Additionally, pricing information is an estimate and provided only as an initial reference.
10 AI Platforms for Lawyers
1. Westlaw Edge
- Best for: Enterprise-level legal research, litigation analytics, citation checking.
- Pricing:
- Single-State Primary Law: ~$194.40/month
- All States Primary Law: ~$264.80/month
- Single State + Federal: ~$334.40/month
- What to Know: Westlaw Edge is best for lawyers who want AI-powered efficiency in legal research and case strategy. Features such as Litigation Analytics and KeyCite Overruling Risk provide data-driven insights and ensure citations remain reliable, and Statutes Compare highlights legislative changes instantly. Together, these AI functions help attorneys save time, strengthen arguments, and make more informed strategic decisions—while still requiring careful human oversight to verify accuracy.
2. Lexis+ AI
- Best for: Mid-size firms needing research, citation tracking, AI summaries.
- Pricing: ~$75–$350+/month per user
- What to Know: Lexis+ AI is best for lawyers who want AI support in legal research, drafting, and document review. It allows natural-language questions with answers grounded in authoritative sources like Shepard’s, Matthew Bender, and Appleman, while also generating tailored drafts of motions, contracts, and memos by jurisdiction. Its AI can summarize lengthy cases or documents into concise overviews and personalize outputs through the Protégé assistant, which adapts to a lawyer’s style and securely integrates with firm resources. While it improves speed and efficiency, attorneys must still verify outputs carefully since studies show even Lexis+ AI can produce inaccurate or hallucinated results.
3. CoCounsel (formerly Casetext by Thomson Reuters)
- Best for: Solo practitioners and small firms using AI for research, drafting, and contract review.
- Pricing:
- ~$65–$150/month per user (basic tier)
- Up to ~$400/month for full access
- What to know: What sets this tool apart from other large language models is that it was trained for the law. Attorneys and AI specialists have rigorously and repeatedly tested this OpenAI-powered solution tailored to lawyers’ needs and reliable and secure enough to meet the highest bar.
4. Bloomberg Law
- Best for: Corporate and regulatory law—excellent for integrating financial/legal analytics.
- Pricing: Generally high—estimates are $350–$500+/month per user
- What to Know: Bloomberg Law’s AI shines in conversational legal research and document summarization, enabling attorneys to ask questions in natural language and receive precise, citation-backed answers via their Bloomberg Law Answers and AI Assistant tools. It supports iterative, back-and-forth chats, retains conversation history, filters results by jurisdiction, and builds comparison charts—plus delivers inline citations and one-click verification to enhance reliability. Additionally, its AI tools assist with contract review, summarizing key provisions and surfacing critical terms via the Contract Assistant, which lets users pose plain-English questions about a document’s implications. Together, these features help streamline research, improve accuracy, and boost efficiency for legal professionals using Bloomberg Law’s platform.
5. Fastcase
- Best for: Cost-conscious solo attorneys and legal aid organizations seeking essential AI research features.
- Pricing: ~$65–$125/month per user
- What to Know: Fastcase is best for lawyers who want an affordable, AI-enhanced legal research tool that balances innovation with accessibility. Its Bad Law Bot flags cases that have been overruled or negatively treated, while visualization tools like interactive timelines help attorneys quickly spot legal trends. The platform also offers strong natural-language search, citation prediction, and verification features, all available on desktop or mobile and often bundled free through state bar associations. This makes Fastcase especially useful for solo practitioners and small firms seeking cost-effective AI research support.
6. Everlaw AI Assistant
- Best for: E-discovery, litigation, document review and trial preparation.
- Pricing: Custom—contact sales. Sources mention transparent “no hidden fees” but no public numbers.
- What to Know: Everlaw’s AI Assistant excels in streamlining document-heavy workflows by generating batch summaries, extracting key topics, entities, and sentiment, and providing coding suggestions to prioritize high-value information during e-discovery. Its embedded Writing Assistant, integrated within Storybuilder, helps lawyers quickly draft fact-based memos, deposition questions, or outlines—complete with inline citations drawn directly from evidence. The platform offers powerful document-level Q&A, letting users ask open-ended questions about documents and receive verifiable, citation-backed answers. Together, these AI features transform tedious review tasks into faster, evidence-grounded narrative building—while maintaining rigorous security and hallucination mitigation.
7. Clio Duo (within Clio Manage)
- Best for: Case management and billing automation powered by AI.
- Pricing:
- EasyStart: $49/user/month
- Essentials: $79/user/month
- Advanced: $109/user/month (annual rates may vary)
- Complete: ~$139/user/month
- With Clio Duo, you can:
- Find answers quickly: Extract key details from documents and cases in seconds.
- Stay on top of tasks and deadlines: Prioritize urgent tasks and deadlines with smart recommendations.
- Manage tasks efficiently: Create tasks, calendar events, and add time entries and notes from anywhere in Clio’s case management platform.
- Track time: Receive suggestions for unlogged notes, calls, and emails.
- Respond faster: AI-generated emails and text messages help you reply to clients quickly.
8. Smith.ai
- Best for: AI-powered client intake, reception, and communications.
- Pricing:
- Starter: ~$97.50/month (30 calls)
- Basic: ~$270/month (90 calls)
- Pro: ~$825/month (300 calls)
- What to Know: Smith.ai excels as a hybrid AI + human receptionist platform that streamlines client intake and communication for law firms. It handles 24/7 calls, web chats, texts, and SMS, performs conflict checks, qualifies leads, schedules appointments, accepts payments, and integrates seamlessly with legal CRMs like Clio and MyCase—all without requiring an in-house receptionist. Its AI-driven features include call transcription, spam filtering, analytics, and lead intake workflows that boost conversion rates by ensuring no client inquiry falls through the cracks. While it’s powerful for intake and client engagement, it doesn’t support legal research or drafting, making it ideal for firms that need front-desk support rather than substantive legal assistance.
9. Lawgeex
- Best for: Automated contract review with compliance checks and risk detection.
- Pricing: Custom; must contact sales for a quote.
- What to Know: LawGeex is best for lawyers seeking AI-powered contract review that enhances speed, consistency, and compliance. Its platform automates the review and redlining of contracts by aligning them with your organization's predefined policies, effectively acting as an extension of your legal team. LawGeex's AI analyzes contracts with an average accuracy rate of 94%, outperforming experienced lawyers who averaged 85% in similar tasks. By transforming legal guidelines into digital playbooks, it ensures standardized and efficient contract review processes across organizations. This approach not only reduces review time but also minimizes risks and enhances overall legal operations.
10. Diligen
- Best for: Reviewing contracts and making the process more efficient. Using Diligen’s machine learning-powered analysis, you can conduct due diligence to review contracts for specific clauses, provisions, or changes and quickly output a convenient summary.
- Pricing:
- Essential Plan: ~$350/month (includes basic contract analysis features suitable for smaller teams or firms with moderate contract volumes.)
- Professional Plan: ~$500/month (plan provides enhanced features from Essential, including more advanced analysis tools and increased contract processing capabilities.)
- Enterprise Plane: ~$1,600/month (Plan is designed for larger organizations requiring extensive contract analysis, offering the highest level of features, support, and customization options.)
- What to Know: Utilizing machine learning, Diligen automatically identifies key provisions—such as change of control, indemnity, and termination clauses—and generates comprehensive contract summaries in formats like Word or Excel. The platform allows for easy customization, enabling users to train the system to recognize specific clauses pertinent to their practice areas. Diligen also offers robust collaboration features, allowing teams to filter contracts by various criteria, assign tasks, and manage the review process seamlessly.
Regardless of whether you choose one of these platforms or another option out there, always be sure to check with the provider about their privacy protections they have in place. At the end of the day, it is your responsibility to ensure your client’s information is protected. Again, LMICK is not endorsing any of these products and encourages due diligence before using any AI product. If you use another product that has been good, let us know and we will share those products in subsequent LMICK Minutes.
Questions? Contact
Cybersecurity Claims and Protecting Your Practice
Lawyers face a unique set of cybersecurity challenges because their work involves highly sensitive client information, often protected by privilege and professional ethical rules. Lawyers’ major concerns combine technical vulnerabilities, ethical obligations, regulatory compliance, and the business implications of a breach. Essentially, the stakes are high because client trust, legal ethics, and firm viability are all on the line.
Here's a list of the top 5 most common cyber claims against law firms:
1. Data Breaches / Unauthorized Access
- Description: Hackers gain access to client files, emails, or case management systems.
- Example Claims: Theft of sensitive corporate documents, client contracts, or litigation strategy.
- Impact: Malpractice claims, regulatory fines, and reputational damage.
2. Ransomware Attacks
- Description: Malware encrypts firm data and demands payment to restore access.
- Example Claims: Firms unable to access critical client data, leading to missed deadlines or lost evidence.
- Impact: Business interruption, client lawsuits, and costly remediation.
3. Phishing & Email Fraud
- Description: Employees are tricked into revealing credentials or wiring funds to attackers.
- Example Claims: Wire transfer fraud, unauthorized disclosure of privileged information.
- Impact: Financial loss, client liability, and potential malpractice claims.
4. Insider Threats
- Description: Employees or contractors intentionally or accidentally expose confidential information.
- Example Claims: Sharing client data with unauthorized parties, mishandling privileged communications.
- Impact: Professional liability claims and regulatory penalties.
5. Third-Party / Cloud Vendor Failures
- Description: Breaches occur in third-party platforms used by the firm (cloud storage, document management systems, AI tools).
- Example Claims: Data leaks despite firm compliance with security standards; disputes over responsibility for damages.
- Impact: Coverage disputes with cyber insurers, client lawsuits, and compliance violations.
Accordingly, here are 5 basic steps you can take to secure your practice:
1. Implement Multifactor Authentication
- Multi-factor authentication is a necessity today. Your typical password isn’t enough to secure your account as attacks have become more advanced. Using a token along with a complex password or “passphrase” should be the standard for businesses moving forward.
2. Complete a Risk Assessment
- “You don’t know what you don’t know”. Having a risk assessment performed will show you the current gaps in Security controls for your business, and will position you to effectively improve your cybersecurity posture.
3. Utilize the “Principle of Least Privilege”
- Minimizing the surface area of attack is key – and ensuring that accounts only have the permissions and privileges that they *should* have helps to prevent a compromised account from being leveraged for malicious attacks.
4. Train Employees on Social Engineering
- You’ve heard it before, the end user is the weakest, or “riskiest” asset to a business. It’s vital that we are making our employees aware of different types of attacks and how they can best protect themselves and your business.
5. Get Cyber Insurance
- At the end of the day, no security control is 100% foolproof. A Cyberinsurance plan can provide you with crucial assistance whether it’s financial compensation, a forensics team at your disposal, or more in the event of a cyber attack. You wouldn’t drive without insurance – it helps to have it, just in case.
Questions? Contact
Lawyer Well-Being
September is Suicide Prevention Month
September is Suicide Prevention Month and Lawyers Mutual wants you know that we are always here to assist you. If you or anyone you know are dealing with suicidal thoughts or tendencies, please seek help immediately. The #988Lifeline is there to support you through any emotional need-not just the thoughts of suicide. Connect with a trained counselor who is ready to support you. You can click here to learn more about National Suicide Prevention Month and find additional resources.
Know That Help is Always Available
If you are struggling with grief, sadness, anxiety, or any other emotion or stressor that is negatively impacting your daily life, please reach out for help. All Kentucky lawyers are eligible for four free visits with a mental health professional through the Kentucky Lawyers Assistance Program. For more information about the variety of confidential resources KYLAP offers, please visit www.KYLAP.org.
Daily Schedule for Well-Being
The Institute for Well-Being in Law, recently held its “Well-Being Week in Law”, May 5-9, 2025. Accordingly, the Institute published a daily well-being weekly planner to assist you and your colleagues work together and improve well-being collectively. Here is the sample week provided by the Institute that you and your colleagues can implement any week!
Monday
- Get active with others! Team up with colleagues to support a daily goal of at least 30-minutes of physical activity. Whether that be taking a walk during lunch or just take a mental health lap around your office to clear your mind and move your body.
- Plan and attend happy hours! Spending time with colleagues outside the office burns off steam and is a great way to fill your social tank.
Tuesday
- Seize the day with Gratitude and Service! Try going into the office with a mindset that you are grateful for your job and the colleagues you work with. Even if you had a stressful day the day before, try shaking off any negative feelings and try and bring a positive spin to your day. Or if a colleague is struggling, help them out. Helping others will inevitably brighten your day and increase well-being.
Wednesday
- Engage in Either Team or Family Vacation Planning to Bolster Well-Being! While summer may be ending, vacations still must be considered and are important to overall well-being. If you work in a small office, vacation planning can be tough to ensure office coverage. Thus, plan vacations well in advance to avoid any stress. If you work in a large office, consider taking a trip with a close colleague. This will increase both of your morale’s and build on a collegial relationship.
Thursday
- This is a social well-being day! If you are someone who typically eats at their desk, try inviting a colleague out to lunch. Or see if any colleagues would like to walk on their lunch and burn off any extra energy. This would also be a great day to let a colleague that recently helped you know that you truly appreciate their assistance. Colleague appreciation amongst peers is critical and letting someone know you value them goes a long way towards improving well-being.
Friday
- This is a day for your own emotional well-being. Consider joining a yoga class or group meditation class. Being with peers and learning how to focus and drown out work and other nuisances is key in trying to relax. You could also consider volunteering within your community. Giving back to your community is a great way to make you feel better about yourself and connect with your neighbors.
Questions? Contact
Upcoming Events
We look forward to seeing you!
We are proud to support the organizations that support you and your work! We will be out and about this spring, leading CLEs and sponsoring events. We hope you can join us at one of these currently scheduled events (and make sure to come say hello)!
September 24: NKBA CLE, Zoom
September 25: Kentucky Law Update, Paducah
October 9: Kentucky Law Update, London
October 23: Kentucky Law Update, Lexington
October 26: LBA Pickleball, Louisville
October 30: NKBA Family Law Section, Covington
November 6: Kentucky Law Update, Pikeville
November 6: Kentucky Land Title, Louisville
November 20: Kentucky Law Update, Bowling Green
We want to hear from you! Have a CLE topic you would like to see? Send suggestions to
Need a CLE Speaker? We would love to speak to your group! You can check out our updated list of available topics and request to schedule, here.