AI does not give legal advice and does not track deadlines for you. It sorts exhibits, transcribes dictation, checks cross-references, and prepares first drafts, which the attorney or in-house counsel reviews and signs.
AI helps legal assistants with tasks such as “Do first-pass research for the attorney,” “Prepare the exhibit list,” and “Check exhibit references in a brief.” Start with a single task, in Ordalie: allow 15 minutes the first time, and always review the result before you use it.
For each task: how it goes today, then with the tool. And the time it takes the first time.
Ordalie · Legal research, with cited sources
Today“Find me what the Cour de cassation says about this.” The request comes in at 5 pm, for a brief due the next day.
With OrdalieA research note with the statutes and decisions, backed by links, for the attorney to approve.
Doctrine · Assistant, with your documents
TodaySixty exhibits arrived by email in no order, to sort, name, and number before disclosure.
With DoctrineA draft numbered exhibit list, and the list of exhibits to check before disclosure.
Claude · Attached files, in the conversation
TodayOne exhibit renumbered at the last minute, and the brief points to the wrong exhibit for ten pages.
With ClaudeA table of the references to fix before the brief is served.
Also
Superwhisper · “Transcribe File...” with a “Local” model
The text of the dictation, cleaned up, with the passages to verify flagged.
Doctrine · “Extraire des informations” (Extract information)
An audit table, one row per contract, where each cell links back to the passage in the contract.
The list of steps and documents, with the official link for each, to compare with the firm’s own.
Microsoft Copilot · Copilot in Outlook
The status of documents received and missing, and a draft follow-up to review.
Claude · Excel file, in the conversation
A readable fee detail, in Excel, with the original description alongside for checking.
Claude · “Projects”
A set of drafts in Word, company by company, with the points for the attorney to decide.
What to check
The free plan gives ten questions per week and erases the history after seven days: copy the answer the same day. A cited decision may not apply to the case: the attorney makes the call.
Do first-pass research for the attorneyOrdalie · Legal research, with cited sourcesThe prompt to copy
In French [employment / commercial / lease] law, here is the situation, without names: [describe the facts in three sentences, with the dates]. The question is: [the attorney’s question]. Give the applicable articles, then the decisions of the Cour de cassation and the courts of appeal from the last five years, from most recent to oldest. For each decision: the court, the date, the number, the holding in one sentence, and the link. Flag decisions that go the other way.
In Nova, “My path” starts from your level: one next step at a time.
The first moves, with free tools.
In your jobFollow up with a client on missing documents
In your jobCheck exhibit references in a brief
In your jobDo first-pass research for the attorney
In your jobPrepare the exhibit list
For a team: everyone moves forward in their own job. You see the team’s progress, never one person’s activity.
Check the references between a brief and its exhibits, clean up the detail of a fee statement, prepare the drafts for a shareholders’ meeting from the firm’s templates.
Recommended planFree to try, with no client data. At the firm: Team, $25 per user per month ($20 if billed yearly).
Sort the exhibits in a case by date, turn a batch of contracts into a table, and find a statute or a decision.
Recommended planDoctrine subscription, see the website for pricing. A free trial is offered.
First-pass research in French law, with a link to each source, to try without a credit card.
Recommended planOrdalie, €0: 10 questions per week and 3 documents. For daily use: Ordalie PRO, €75 excl. tax per user per month.
If the firm is on Microsoft 365: summarize a long thread with a client in Outlook and draft the follow-up, without switching software.
Recommended planMicrosoft 365 Copilot Chat, included at no extra cost in eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Microsoft 365 Copilot Business license: €15.60 excl. tax per user per month, annual commitment.
Transcribe dictation on the firm’s computer: with a “Local” model, the attorney’s voice never goes online.
Recommended planPro, $8.49 per month, to transcribe a recorded file. Live dictation is on the Free plan, $0.
Check the list of documents for a filing on official websites, with the link and date of each page.
Recommended planFree: 3 “Pro” searches per day and 1 “Research” report per month. Then: Pro, $20 per month (€22 on the French App Store).
Prices taken from the vendors’ official pages, dated on each tool page. These subscriptions are not included in Nova. Brands are named to identify the tools. No affiliation.
Nova recommends 6 to start with: Claude, Doctrine, Ordalie, Microsoft Copilot, Superwhisper, and Perplexity. 4 of them can be used for free to get started.
Check the references between a brief and its exhibits, clean up the detail of a fee statement, prepare the drafts for a shareholders’ meeting from the firm’s templates. The plan to choose: Free to try, with no client data. At the firm: Team, $25 per user per month ($20 if billed yearly).
With “Do first-pass research for the attorney,” in Ordalie (Legal research, with cited sources). Allow 15 minutes the first time. A research note with the statutes and decisions, backed by links, for the attorney to approve.
No. Nova is software, not an accredited training provider: it issues no diploma or certification. It costs €19 per month for one person, and €129 per month for a team of up to ten people.