Valiant Law attorney takes on cases outside his specialties using Westlaw with CoCounsel AI-Assisted Research

Safa Riadh, an attorney in northern Idaho seven years into his law career, specializes in bankruptcy, criminal, and family law. Before Westlaw with CoCounsel added AI-Assisted Research, research was time intensive: "You're just reading a bunch of cases until you find what you're looking for, right?" He says he shied away from matters he did not know enough about.

Riadh, a long-time Westlaw user, has used Westlaw with CoCounsel's AI-Assisted Research daily for the four to five months since the feature was added, prompting it with questions in the moment he needs the answers. He used it at a recent trial when a question came up that nobody could answer. He says he trusts the content it returns but that lawyers must always read the cases: "We have an ethical duty to double-check everything."

Riadh says Westlaw with CoCounsel gives him "language from the statutes or case law themselves to quickly understand what I need to understand and then apply it," which lets him reach proficiency in a new area quickly, so he now takes cases outside bankruptcy, criminal, and family law that he previously avoided. At the trial, he reports that AI-Assisted Research guided all parties to the understanding that the issue was ultimately up to the judge's discretion, and the judge agreed. He says solving a problem quicker makes the client happy and strengthens his reputation in the community.

• An attorney who specializes in bankruptcy, criminal, and family law says AI-Assisted Research lets him take cases in other practice areas.
• He used it live during a trial to help answer a question nobody in the room could answer.
• He says lawyers must still read the cases and check citations: "We have an ethical duty to double-check everything."
• His stance is that lawyers do their clients a disservice if they do not use available tools that help them work better and more efficiently.