New Feature: Filter Content By Document and/or Case Type
New Feature: Filter Content by Case and Document Type

- Time-saving: With a vast database of objections and responses at their disposal, litigators often find themselves sifting through massive amounts of information to find what they need. Briefpoint’s new case type filter eliminates the need for tedious and time-consuming searches, streamlining the process and allowing legal professionals to focus on their primary task – crafting compelling arguments for their clients.
- Standardization: Large organizations often struggle to maintain uniformity in their responses across cases. With the new case type filter, organizations can easily input their history of responses, ensuring that all team members have access to consistent information.
- Accessing the Feature: To begin using the case type filter, log in to your Briefpoint account and navigate to your Library’s discovery response drafting section.
- Selecting the Case Type: Choose your content and locate the case type dropdown menu located near the top of the page. Click on the menu and choose the appropriate case type from the list provided.
- Drafting Responses: With the relevant objections and responses now labeled, you can begin drafting your discovery responses with ease. Select the desired case type from the Edit Case page and now the content that you similarly tagged is surfaced right where you respond. The seamless integration of the case type filter allows for a smooth drafting process without the need to switch between screens or search for additional information.
Best 5 Gavel Software Alternatives in 2024
Best 5 Gavel Software Alternatives in 2024
The best document automation software tools are easy to use and effective, and help law firms save significant amounts of time, which they can then spend on value-adding tasks.
In this post, we’ll review some of the best Gavel alternatives available to litigators and law firms.
Briefpoint
There are plenty of Gavel alternatives, but none can match Briefpoint for discovery document automation. Briefpoint makes it as easy as possible for law firms to automate the key discovery response and request processes, resulting in hours of saved time that lawyers can spend drafting what really matters.
Briefpoint has been built specifically with the legal industry in mind, making it intuitive for law firms to use. The powerful AI integrations ensure that it’s highly effective and makes working straightforward.
Thanks to Briefpoint’s intuitive design, while sophisticated, Briefpoint can nevertheless be used by professionals of all technical abilities.
The result? Hours saved on each document. You can get started with Briefpoint by scheduling a demo.
Rally
Rally is a law-focused automation tool that focuses on many legal tasks, not just document creation.
With Rally, you have control over many aspects of the client experience, and you can also use it to customize branding, organize documents, and accept payments.
While Rally is a powerful tool, it does have a couple of disadvantages. The main one is that it offers many different features that may not be required by the law firm, resulting in paying for a product that is not fully needed.
In addition, its document creation capabilities are not as advanced as other Gavel alternatives, such as Briefpoint. It also has a high price point.
However, it may be suitable for individual lawyers who want an all-encompassing tool with which they can complete a variety of tasks.
Hotdocs
HotDocs has been around for a long time, which is both a positive and a negative. On the plus side, they have experience in putting together forward-thinking document generation software.
However, because it’s been around for a while, it’s lacking some of the innovation that you’ll find in other tools. It also is not specifically designed for use in the legal field, which makes it a little more difficult for legal professionals to use.
It’s generally more complicated to use than other Gavel alternatives, with many of the tool’s features requiring coding experience. If you have coding experience along with the time to get to grips with HotDocs, then you’ll find it to be powerful. It’s also recommended if you serve a variety of different sectors, not just the legal field.
Woodpecker
Woodpecker is a software tool that’s easy to use and offers a wide variety of features, including legal document automation. It’s suitable for both large and small law firms and is adept at creating both complex and straightforward documents.
The software puts a greater emphasis on the client experience than other tools, and could well be regarded as a client onboarding tool rather than a document automation tool.
Still, it’s possible to create discovery responses and requests documents once you know how, and it also integrates with a number of tools widely used within the legal field.
PandaDoc
PandaDoc is a popular document automation software tool that claims to help professionals save up to 40% of time per document. It wasn’t specifically designed for use in the legal industry, but it includes a number of tools that legal professionals will appreciate.
It comes packed with features that help with various tasks beyond document creation, such as streamlining the customer experience. While powerful, it is more complex than other tools, and may not be suitable for firms looking to get up and running with their software quickly.
How Briefpoint Can Help You
Discovery responses cost firms $23,240, per year, per attorney. $23,240 estimate assumes an associate attorney salary of $150,000 (including benefits – or $83 an hour), 20 cases per year/per associate, 4 discovery sets per case, 30 questions per set, 3.5 hours spent responding to each set, and 1800 hours of billable hours per year.
Under these assumptions, you save $20,477 using Briefpoint, per year, per attorney.
Test Briefpoint yourself by scheduling a demo here.
FAQs About Gavel Alternatives
What Can You Do With Legal Document Automation Software?
Legal document automation software helps to streamline the discovery response and request process. By spending less time on these time-consuming tasks, legal professionals can spend more time on value-adding tasks, all the while having confidence that their documents are just as they should be.
What Is The Best Gavel.io Alternative?
There are plenty of Gavel alternatives on the market. One of the best is Briefpoint, which offers automated discovery response and request documents. Featuring a high customer satisfaction score of 4.9/5, Briefpoint has become known for being one of the best AI legal tools in the industry, capable of reducing the time spent on each document by up to 87%.
What to Look For In Legal Document Automation Software?
Not all legal documentation automation software is the same, so it’s important to look through the Gavel alternatives and find the one that’s right for your needs. In general, it’s best to look at software that is effective, powerful, and easy to use — with those three attributes, law firms can ensure that they have a tool that can seriously enhance their productivity.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser.
Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website authors, contributors, contributing law firms, or committee members and their respective employers.
The Work Product Doctrine in California (2024 Guide for Litigation Attorneys)
The Work Product Doctrine in California (2024 Guide for Litigation Attorneys)
The Work Product Doctrine Overview
The work product doctrine is a fundamental aspect of California law that protects certain materials from disclosure or discovery in civil litigation. This article will delve into the principles and requirements of this doctrine, specifically covering the types of materials protected as work product, persons who may claim work product protection, exceptions to the work product doctrine, and waiver of work product protection.
Work Product Protection Purpose
The work product doctrine, codified in California law under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2018.010 et seq., serves two primary purposes: preserving the rights of attorneys to prepare cases for trial with necessary privacy and preventing attorneys from taking undue advantage of their adversary’s industry and efforts. Although the statute appears to apply only to discovery proceedings, courts have held that it also shields work product from disclosure at trial and extends to criminal proceedings.
What is Protected by the Work Product Doctrine?
In California, the work product doctrine provides two types of protection for attorney work product: absolute and qualified.
Absolute protection covers “a writing that reflects an attorney’s impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal research or theories is not discoverable under any circumstances.” (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2018.030(a)) Qualified privilege covers the other work product of an attorney and “is not discoverable unless the court determines that denial of discovery will unfairly prejudice the party seeking discovery in preparing that party’s claim or defense or will result in an injustice.” (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2018.030(b))
Who Owns the Protection?
Work product protection is a type of privilege that belongs to the attorney and may be claimed or waived by the attorney. However, it may also be claimed by the client on behalf of the attorney in the attorney’s absence. Additionally, a litigant acting in propria persona may assert the statutory work product protection on their own behalf.
Exceptions to Work Product Protection
Work product protection does not apply in certain circumstances, including actions between attorneys and clients involving breach of attorney’s duty, official investigations or proceedings involving alleged participation by attorneys in crime or fraud, and State Bar disciplinary proceedings.
Waiving the Protection
Work product protection may be waived through various means, such as disclosure or consent to disclosure, failure to assert the protection when the opportunity arises, placing certain matters at issue, or engaging in conduct inconsistent with claiming the privilege. Inadvertent disclosure of work product does not necessarily waive the protection, but receiving attorneys must act ethically and responsibly in such situations.
Conclusion
The work product doctrine is a vital component of California law that safeguards the attorney-client relationship and ensures that attorneys can effectively prepare for litigation. By understanding the principles and requirements of this doctrine, litigation attorneys can better navigate the complexities of the legal system and protect their clients’ interests.
Briefpoint Litigation Software
Discovery responses cost firms $23,240, per year, per attorney. $23,240 estimate assumes an associate attorney salary of $150,000 (including benefits – or $83 an hour), 20 cases per year/per associate, 4 discovery sets per case, 30 questions per set, 3.5 hours spent responding to each set, and 1800 hours of billable hours per year.
Under these assumptions, you save $20,477 using Briefpoint, per year, per attorney.
Test Briefpoint yourself by scheduling a demo here.
Discovery Responses: How Can Software Help?
Discovery Responses: How Can Software Help?

Discovery Responses Overview
Responding to opposing an opposing party’s requests for information can be time-consuming and cognitively challenging. Unfortunately, many law firms have become accustomed to using manual paperwork to deal with these.
Now, though, software is helping. Law firms are experimenting with automation software like Briefpoint, to expedite the tedious work of drafting discovery responses and focus on what matters most.
The benefits of using software to automate discovery responses are substantial. Solutions reduce costs, minimize the risk of inadvertent disclosure of privileged information, and improve accuracy. Once law firms start using them, they often wonder why they didn’t discover them earlier.
This article explains how software solutions, like Briefpoint, can assist with discovery response. We cover the principal benefits and how AI-infused tools transform workflows.
Improving The Review Process
The primary benefit of discovery response software is its capacity to streamline the review process. Instead of reading through documents manually, systems crawl submissions for relevant information and extract it for evaluation.
For example, Briefpoint’s solution does this using advanced artificial intelligence (AI). It scans documents, pulls relevant information, and assists you in responding. Simply upload requests for admission/production or interrogatories and get a suite of tools for adding objections and responses.
Another benefit of software in the review process is helping avoid missing critical items in discovery requests, a common problem in legal practices. Attorneys and paralegals can sometimes skip crucial information when crafting responses. However, software solves this problem by using AI to extract anything essential. It never gets tired, reducing the risk of error or non-compliance.
Briefpoint makes this aspect of the review process simpler. AI then presents short reviewable snippets you can use when crafting your response. This helps with productivity and prevents tedious mistakes.
Building Strong Responses
While providing information to the opposing party is sometimes mandatory, it can put clients at an unnecessary disadvantage when done incorrectly. Therefore, software solutions also help you build strong discovery responses.
For example, software can integrate legal databases and relevant case law to support the integrity of your objections. It can also call on pre-filled template libraries (and fields), enabling you to “drop-and-drag” or simply click your responses into existence.
You choose from a list of legally permissible responses added automatically. It happens almost instantaneously. The best solutions let you draft documents with a click and apply standards across your firm.
For example, Briefpoint includes template responses and automatic objections you can add to your reply (that qualify under the law), saving an estimated 87% of your time. (You can download them into Word format to edit them further).
Software can also include automated filtering and tagging. These features scan documents, looking for keyphrases that indicate a request for privileged data. The most advanced tools use machine learning to look for confidential information. This technology streamlines the review process further and provides practitioners with greater confidence when submitting documents to the opposing party.
Enhanced Communication, Organization, And Security
Another benefit of discovery automation software is enhanced communication and collaboration. Team members can work in tandem to optimize replies and ensure optimal client protection within the law.
The best tools also enhance security, enabling you to comply with data protection laws within and across jurisdictions. For example, Briefpoint puts multiple measures in place to prevent data loss or theft. For instance, in-transit and at-rest encryption means that documents uploaded to us remain inaccessible regardless of location (except to those with permission).
We also perform regular document backups and maintain redundant servers to ensure you don’t lose any uploaded paperwork. On the backend, our team implements mandatory code reviews and conducts regular internal security audits on all technical decisions. And Microsoft Azure is our login security provider, compatible with multiple business-related accounts.
Understanding The Value Of Discovery Response Software
Ultimately, discovery response software tools help you cut the amount of non-billable time your team spends on discovery responses. Speeding up back-office processes enables you to operate more efficiently while assuring your clients’ best interests.
They also enable you to enjoy a host of additional benefits, such as avoiding disclosing privileged information and improving the accuracy of your responses. You can streamline your workflow and achieve peace of mind.
How Briefpoint Can Help You
Discovery responses cost firms $23,240, per year, per attorney. $23,240 estimate assumes an associate attorney salary of $150,000 (including benefits – or $83 an hour), 20 cases per year/per associate, 4 discovery sets per case, 30 questions per set, 3.5 hours spent responding to each set, and 1800 hours of billable hours per year.
Book a demo and save on these costs with Briefpoint.
FAQs In Relation To Discovery Responses
How do you respond to a discovery?
The best way to respond to discovery is to write each interrogatory and provide your response underneath it. Sometimes, you will provide the requested information, but other times you will want to list an objection. Briefpoint makes this process simple by providing a library of template responses you can use for variegated requests.
What happens if you don’t answer a discovery?
Failing to respond to a discovery can lead to various sanctions, including fines and penalties in the courtroom. It could also undermine your credibility.
What is a written discovery response?
A written discovery response is a document that provides a discovery request reply in writing. It can be electronic or mailed to the opposing party’s representative.
How do you write a discovery request?
Writing a discovery request requires extensive legal knowledge and understanding of permissible objections. However, software tools offer various shortcuts. For instance, BriefPoint can scan discovery requests and provide bespoke responses and objection suggestions based on the received text using AI.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser.
Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website authors, contributors, contributing law firms, or committee members and their respective employers.