The Descrybe.ai Founders: Kara Peterson and Richard DiBona

Hey there Legal Rebels! 👋

This is the sixteenth episode of the 2024 season of the LawDroid Manifesto podcast, where I will be interviewing key legal innovators to learn how they do what they do.

If you want to understand how AI is democratizing access to legal information and transforming the way we navigate the complex world of case law, you need to listen to this episode. Kara Peterson and Richard DiBona, the co-founders of Descrybe.ai, are at the forefront of this revolution and have unique insights to share.

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Democratizing Access to Justice: The AI-Powered Case Law Revolution

Join me as I interview the minds behind this innovative platform that harnesses the power of AI to make complex legal cases accessible and understandable for everyone. Kara and Richard share their inspiring journey as entrepreneurs, from identifying a critical need for democratizing legal knowledge to overcoming the challenges of building a cutting-edge legal tech startup.

Discover how Descrybe.ai is transforming the way legal professionals and the public alike navigate the intricate world of case law. Learn about the platform's unique features, including semantic search and AI-generated case summaries, which enable users to quickly find relevant precedents and grasp key legal concepts.

Kara and Richard also delve into their company's ethos, discussing the importance of prioritizing affordability, user privacy, and the pursuit of justice over mere profits. Their insights offer a refreshing perspective on the role of legal tech in promoting access to justice and the potential for AI to make a positive impact on society.

This thought-provoking episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the future of law, the democratization of legal information, and the power of technology to drive social change. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from two pioneering entrepreneurs who are reshaping the legal landscape one case at a time.

The Skinny

In this episode of the LawDroid Manifesto podcast, host Tom Martin interviews Kara Peterson and Richard DiBona, co-founders of Descrybe.ai, a free case law search engine that aims to democratize access to legal information. Kara focuses on marketing and business development while Richard handles the technical side.

Key Takeaways:

* Descrybe.ai uses AI to make case law accessible and easy to understand for legal professionals and the general public. It currently provides free access to summarized case law from 1980 onwards for all U.S. states and Washington D.C., as well as all historical Supreme Court cases.

* The platform uses semantic search to find relevant cases based on concepts and similarities, not just keywords, enabling users to discover useful precedents they may not have otherwise found. Search results include AI-generated "cliff notes" case summaries for quick review.

* As a bootstrapped startup, Descrybe.ai prioritizes user privacy by minimizing data collection. Its case summaries have proven accurate in extensive spot-checking. The company is exploring options to have the platform independently benchmarked for accuracy and reliability.

* The co-founders emphasize their focus on affordability, access to justice, and a positive impact rather than profits and growth at all costs. While currently pre-revenue, they are exploring freemium models with affordable pricing for additional features to sustain and grow the platform.

* Descrybe.ai has found the legal tech community to be unusually open, collaborative and supportive. The co-founders encourage aspiring founders to pursue their own innovations in the space and for lawyers to proactively learn about and embrace the coming wave of AI-powered tools.

Descrybe.ai represents an innovative approach to democratizing access to case law through the power of AI. By providing free, easy-to-use tools to search and understand court opinions, it has the potential to be a valuable resource for legal professionals, especially those engaged in pro bono and public interest work, as well as for the general public. As the platform expands and evolves, it will be worth tracking its progress and impact in promoting access to justice.

Notable Quotes:

* "Most simply, what Descrybe.ai is, is a legal research tool that is using AI to democratize access to the law. And in this case, particularly case law, which, as everyone out there knows, are judicial opinions and are a foundational part of the law in this country." - Kara Peterson, 00:02:49

* "We're only going to collect as much information as we absolutely have to to make things work. So, like we were saying earlier, you don't need, we don't want your email, we don't want your name, you know, we're not going to store what you're searching for, so we, we're, we're making it as, as minimal, minimally invasive as possible for, for people, so that's part of the trust too." - Kara Peterson, 00:21:45

* "AI is here. It's not going away. It's going to change pretty much everything we do. And the law is a very special place. It can't just be blindly thrown out there because it'll cause more problems than it solves. So learn. Learn as much as you can, don't be afraid, and, and don't don't shut yourself off to it." - Kara Peterson, 00:39:45

* "We do love feedback. So if you're out there and you think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread or the most ridiculous thing you've ever seen, tell us, you know, we especially like to know how people are using it, if it's useful, if it's not, and what kinds of things you'd want. We're very responsive to that." - Kara Peterson, 00:40:45

* "Giving it away for free has actually been super rewarding beyond like, just to see it out there and see the usage and see people that we don't even like car has talked to so many people, but we see people that we've never even talked to talking about it or reviewing it or doing videos about it. And that's, that's so rewarding." - Richard DiBona, 00:38:45

LawDroid Manifesto is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.