Necessity is the mother of invention as it’s been said, no truer could those words be for Trellis’ Co-Founder and CEO Nicole Clark. Her idea for Trellis and the first version of the application was born while practicing as a career litigator, specifically during her term at an AM100 firm in Los Angeles.
What I love most about Trellis’ story is that Nicole personally sought out a way to cross-reference specific data points that indicate patterns of outcomes for litigation matters such as the results or decisions of motions, issues, settlements, specific to Judge or opposing counsel.
A little known fact that Nicole realized when she first began her quest to create Trellis was that while knowing the patterns of decision and result can impact a case dramatically there was no easy path to find that information. As she shares almost all attorneys begin with an email to their team asking “Does anyone have any background or information on _insert Judge’s name here_?
The Google for State Superior Court
Astonishing, that despite having access to so many legal technologies and research resources there was a clear gap in information related to the history of actions within an individual jurisdiction. The reason being that every jurisdiction’s court database stands alone. Independent from any other data source, creating a real challenge for attorneys in search of court specific results.
The fragmented state court database project started with a focus on standardization of court records to make them searchable. Then, increased functionality with the ability to search by legal issue not just the case name. To date, the Trellis Legal Intelligence Platform has aggregated over five million records in California, with an expectation to launch in New York by the end of 2019.
Trial Court Specific Legal Research
Quickly realizing the need for accessibility Nicole’s mission to unify court records in a way that would allow her to access the information she knew would best improve her odds for success. She began with practical use cases within the California court system, such as trying to find the legal threshold for a specific issue. Here’s an example we discussed as Nicole personally walked me through the platform:
Trellis Search: Motion to compel arbitration and class waiver
Goal: To determine if my waiver is enforceable.
Immediate results are returned, then users are able to further drill down to see a specific Judge’s preferences. By having access to a variety of previously filed motions, attorneys now have a jumpstart on drafting their document. Work from an example found, add your facts and tailor to the Judge’s specifications. Then, take the process a step further by researching and citing case docket information right from the case without having to shift to another court records search tool.
Insight into Settlement Ranges
For class action or cases where there are multiple defendants knowing the type and range in settlements can drastically change your litigation strategy. Also, how you educate clients on the level of responsibility they have. Trellis’ settlement insights include:
- Good Faith settlements: What amount(s) has the judge previously approved
- What were the class claims, are there any similar claims, and the average settlement numbers.
- The average recovery of x $ amount per class member
- The portion of the settlement that went to attorneys fees
Docket Search
Every shred of information counts, so Trellis automatically adds any additional docket records or data at no charge beyond the existing court charges/fees.
Search Alerts
No need for repeat searches, keep an eye on your case, or judge’s ruling by receiving notifications on any type of record after you run your initial query. A common list of search alerts include:
- Judges Decisions
- Settlements
- Motions
- Rulings
- Records
Trellis’ Judicial Strategy Report
One of Trellis’ most impressive features is the beautifully packaged Judicial Strategy Report. It’s one thing to offer data that you can cull and search through to reach your own conclusions it’s another completely to go to the lengths of creating a PDF report, summarizing the history, patterns, and recommendations of how to work with a particular Judge.
When time is of the essence, attorneys who use Trellis are able to make quick decisions on whether to “ding their judge” an action that most try to avoid if possible. Now, if there is a need to switch that call can be made faster than ever before. The report, curate by Trellis includes the following summary of a Judge’s history in the following key sections:
- Motion for Summary Adjudication
- Judge vs County vs State
- Grant rate percentage by motion type
- Grant rate compared to other judges
- What case law the Judge prefers
Advanced search by Trellis – Professional Services
Need a comprehensive answer now? Trellis’ professional services team will search, prepare and package specific analytics related to a specific counsel, case type, judge or other inquiry. An offering that will no doubt expand the organization’s growth in the legal market by building deep relationships with some of the nation’s leading litigation firms.
Paving the Way for Proactive Representation
Nicole and her team at Trellis have set a new standard for what could very well become an expectation by clients… Proactive Representation. By reviewing the reports Trellis provides, attorneys can predict where the judge will have an issue. How they expect cases to be handled and their courtroom manner.
Advancing Client Management
The ability to set expectations with clients is a difficult skill to master. There is a fine line between building confidence and over-promising results. With Trellis, attorneys are now able to educate the client based on facts. A method that can be particularly helpful when deciding if they should settle or go all the way through trial. For the first time, putting attorneys in a position to advise and counsel a client to make a calculated decision with facts and predictive data.
Strategic Research and Defense
The best defense is a good offense as some sports fanatics would say. Truthfully, when it comes to litigation every courtside advantage possible is key to delivering the best representation possible.
By searching the records of your opposing counsel it’s possible to get a feel for how active / experienced they are in the area you are handling then use that information to develop a plan for settlement negotiations. What case law do they cite most often, and how do they traditionally argue? A strategy that gives attorneys who use Trellis the ability to go in prepared, instead of unaware.
A fantastic example of Trellis’ strategic search in action is the negotiation of a CFRA Rights Retaliation. From the onset of searching for the standard of retaliation, then identifying the key elements and case law being cited… all while on the phone with opposing counsel. The attorney would be able to arm or reframe their argument on the spot!
Practical tools for Courtroom Etiquette
Nearly every lawyer I speak to cites the initial anxiety and panic that working on your first case brings. Without a single resource for each court, hours are spent hunting down simple information necessary for that first visit to court. Trellis’ directory of courts delivers the following information within seconds.
- General Court Information
- Location
- Clerk’s Phone Number
- Courtroom Rules
- Judge’s Background
- Biography
- Date of appointment
- Age
Training Associates on Technical Guidelines
No matter how long an attorney has been practicing, it’s always nice to double check the practice guidelines of a rule. A quick lookup of a rule number such as 2016.40, returns the set of standards to follow.
Strategic Business Development
Opportunities appear where you create them. Search for a client’s current and previous litigation matters to identify what arguments the current or previous counsel is winning or losing. Then, make a case for your firm with a document track record of wins and Trellis’ ability to monitor and aid in the preparation of their case through the use of predictive technology.
In Summary:
Are you serving your clients to the best of your ability?
Consider this, if you found out that your opposing counsel was using Trellis and you were not wouldn’t it feel like you were at a disadvantage? Furthermore from an ethical perspective, by not leveraging technology to the best of your ability are you doing a disservice for your client? Tough questions, but ones that will become more frequent as products like Trellis gain popularity in the marketplace. In the words of career litigator and Trellis’ Co-Founder, Nicole Clark:
“Now that this data is accessible and affordable – there is no excuse not to be using Trellis to provide the best representation for your client. These research tools and technology are creating a new standard.”
From boutique litigation practices to the largest defense firms, managing partners should acknowledge the benefits to both their team and clients that the Trellis Legal Intelligence Platform will bring. As well as their ethical duty to provide comprehensive counsel by leveraging every research tool possible. While Trellis may not replace the need for traditional document searches, such as those from the appellate court it is undoubtedly possible that Trellis will quickly become where case research and strategy begins.
To learn more about Trellis or schedule a demo visit them at: https://trellis.law/
