How AI Helps Lawyers
Lawyers in small firms write memos, contracts and complaints from scratch under time pressure. 12² builds a precedent-grounded drafting assistant inside the firm's environment, citation-check steps, and an AI-use policy and engagement-letter language for the firm to adopt.
Lawyer First-Draft Workbench · From $4,500 + $495/mo, by team size · proposed estimate · It says it is an automated assistant whenever it talks to someone directly, and your team reviews what it drafts before it goes out.
Ai for small law firms: the short answer.
AI can help a lawyer produce first drafts of memos, contracts and complaints from firm precedents, compare contract versions, and summarize long records. A randomized study found GPT-4 made legal drafting faster without lowering quality. Under ABA Formal Opinion 512, the lawyer must protect client data and verify every citation.
Sources
- RCT: GPT-4 access sped up legal drafting tasks (memo, contract, complaint, handbook) without harming quality (Choi, Monahan, Schwarcz)law.umn.edu
- ABA Formal Opinion 512 (July 29, 2024): informed client consent before inputting client info into self-learning AI tools; lawyers must verify outputacc.com
- Clio practice management from $49/user/mo; AI on higher plans, some pricing quote-onlyclio.com
Where the hours go now.
First versions of memos, contracts and complaints
Lawyers in small firms write memos, contracts and complaints from scratch under time pressure.
Contract versions and flag changed terms
Hours go to reading and re-reading before the real work starts.
Summarizing long records
Long documents and threads pile up waiting for someone to read them.
What it handles, and what it never does.
What it handles
- First versions of memos, contracts and complaintsIt drafts first versions of memos, contracts and complaints from firm precedents.
- Contract versions and flag changed termsIt compares contract versions and flag changed terms.
- Summarizing long recordsIt summarizes long records.
- Client update lettersIt prepares client update letters for review.
- Hand-off to your teamAnything that needs a person goes to the right person, with the details attached.
What it never does
- Make up a price or a factIt works only from the documents, records and price lists you give it. Anything it can't find goes to your team.
- Promise a resultQuestions about outcomes go to the person who does the work.
- Pretend to be a personIt says it is an automated assistant whenever it talks to someone directly.
- Give legal adviceAnything that needs a lawyer's judgment goes to a lawyer.
- Send anything on its ownDrafts wait for your team's approval before anything goes out.
Built and tested on your own work.
Before handoff, we run your build on your own real examples and fix anything that misses.
- Tested on your own workBefore handoff, we run your build on your own real examples and fix anything that misses.
- Retainer, then balance on deliveryRetainer up front. Work starts once the retainer is paid; the balance is due on delivery when the agreed test cases pass.
- Fixed price, scope and timelineAll three in writing before work starts. The timeline is set in your quote.
- What 12² buildsA precedent-grounded drafting assistant inside the firm's environment, citation-check steps, and an AI-use policy and engagement-letter language for the firm to adopt.
- How it connectsWe confirm how it connects to your environment on the first call and write it into your quote.
Related solutions: Paralegal Drafting & Intake Desk · Executive Assistant Copilot Desk · Admin Assistant Workflow Kit · all solutions
See also: AI intake for law firms · pricing
From $4,500 + $495/moSetup + monthly, by size. The monthly fee covers monitoring, fixes and re-tests for your package as your templates, documents and staff change. AI and software usage is billed at cost. Proposed starting estimates by team size, not fixed prices; the final price is in a written quote.
- Small: Small firm (1-4 staff, one location)From $4,500 + $495/mo. The core build for 1-4 staff, one location: a precedent-grounded drafting assistant inside the firm's environment, citation-check steps, and an AI-use policy and engagement-letter language for the firm to adopt. Proposed estimate. Small tier is about the size of a 12squared.ai Proof build; monthly covers hosting, monitoring and fixes.
- Mid-size: Mid-size firm (5-19 staff)From $7,500 + $750/mo. Everything in Small firm, for more users, inboxes and calendars, with hand-off rules set for each role. Proposed estimate. Mid tier is about the size of a Core build (more users, more integrations).
- Enterprise: Enterprise (20+ staff or several locations)From $12,500 + $1,250/mo, custom quote. Everything in Mid-size firm, across locations or departments, with system integrations and a security review scoped in your custom quote. Proposed estimate. Starts near the Product build range; scope, integrations and security review set the final number. No cap. Matches the live 12squared.ai ladder for this industry.
- Retainer up front Work starts once the retainer is paid; the balance is due on delivery when the agreed test cases pass. Scope, price and timeline are agreed in writing before work starts.
- You own itThe accounts, scripts, templates and data sit in your name. You can leave at any time.
- Compliance and dataABA Formal Op. 512: competence, confidentiality, informed consent, verification and reasonable fees. Every citation is checked by a lawyer.
Straight answers.
What about hallucinated cases?
Research output is never filed unchecked. The workflow forces citation verification by an attorney.
How does payment work?
Retainer up front. Work starts once the retainer is paid; the balance is due on delivery when the agreed test cases pass.
How long does it take?
Timelines are set per project in the quote, after we see your systems and volume.
Are these prices final?
No. They are proposed starting estimates. You get a written custom quote after a short scoping call.
Tell us how you handle first versions of memos, contracts and complaints now.
A few lines is enough. If it's a fit we'll say so, and if it isn't we'll tell you why.
- A real replyWritten for you by 12², within one business day. Never an autoresponder.
- A free 20-minute callHow the work runs now, what gets missed, and what your team needs from it.
- A fixed quoteYour size, scope, date and price in writing before any work starts.
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