Founder of Clearbrief, Jacqueline Schafer, shares how AI software aids legal writing, inspired by a pivotal asylum case. Clearbrief secures $4M funding, focusing on growth, diversity, and profitability. The episode explores the evolution of Clearbrief, the founder's transition from lawyer to entrepreneur, and the tool's impact on legal writing, verification, and evidence gathering, emphasizing user feedback and client outcomes.
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Quick takeaways
Clearbrief aids legal writing by highlighting critical evidence for arguments.
Clearbrief successfully transitioned to serving Big Law firms by enhancing security and features.
Deep dives
Product Development and Customer Feedback
The founder and CEO of ClearBrief, Jacqueline Schaffer, credits the company's success to customer feedback guiding their product roadmap. Despite traditional advice against letting customers solely steer development, she emphasizes curating the roadmap based on shared insights. ClearBrief's focus on aiding legal writing stemmed from Schaffer's personal experiences as a litigator, notably saving a client from deportation through critical evidence presentation.
Growth in Big Law Sector and Enhanced Security Measures
ClearBrief initially served small law firms but received substantial interest from Big Law in 2022. To meet the security needs and collaboration levels of larger firms, ClearBrief enhanced its architecture, features, and security. The shift to serving Big Law agencies was strategically planned before the generative AI trend of 2023, leading to a successful adoption and positive feedback across various legal organizations.
Fundraising Challenges and Lessons Learned
Schaffer reflects on the difficulties female founders face in raising capital for legal tech ventures, influenced by industry trends like the fall of Atrium. Leveraging her legal background and credibility, she managed to attract investors and continually improve her fundraising strategies. While initially challenging, Schaffer's commitment to ClearBrief's mission and focus on product development have strengthened her fundraising efforts over time.
The Vision for ClearBrief and Impact on Legal Profession
Beyond financial success, Schaffer is driven by a broader goal of improving the legal profession's well-being and efficacy. ClearBrief aims to alleviate the burdens of legal professionals by streamlining tedious tasks, promoting collaborative workflows, and enhancing evidence-based legal writing. Schaffer envisions a future where legal tech positively transforms the sector, fostering better outcomes for legal teams, clients, and court proceedings.
Jacqueline Schafer, the founder and CEO of Clearbrief, was inspired to start the company based on her own experiences as a litigator and appellate advocate. A pivotal moment for her came in an asylum case she was handling pro bono, when her ability to point the judge to critical evidence that supported her arguments saved her client from deportation and possible death. At that moment, she later old me, the thought crystalized for her, “If you can show the judge the evidence that really tells your client’s story, that’s how you win.’”
Soon after, Schafer set to work building Clearbrief, AI-powered software that works within Microsoft Word to help lawyers find the best facts to support their legal writing. This week, the four-year-old company announced that it had raised an additional funding round of $4 million, bringing its total funding to nearly $8 million. Along the way, it has racked up numerous awards, including Legalweek’s 2023 litigation product of the year, Clio’s 2022 Launch//Code Developer Contest, Legalweek’s 2022 new law company of the year, and the American Legal Technology Awards’ 2021 legal tech startup of the year.
Schafer is our guest today on LawNext, as she shares her journey from practicing lawyer to startup founder, describes how Clearbrief helps lawyers in their legal writing, and discusses what this latest investment means for the company and its customers.
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