For Small Firm Attorneys ·
What you'll accomplish
Staring at a blank page before drafting a motion is one of the slowest parts of litigation work, often eating one to three hours before you write a single persuasive sentence. Once CoCounsel Legal is set up, you can generate a structured outline grounded in relevant case citations in a few minutes, then spend your time refining the argument instead of building the skeleton.
Note on the name: Thomson Reuters currently markets this product as CoCounsel Legal. Older references to "Westlaw CoCounsel" describe the same underlying tool, now consolidated under the CoCounsel Legal brand and sold as part of the Westlaw product family.
What you'll need
If your firm already has a Westlaw subscription without CoCounsel added, contact your account representative and ask about adding it, or request a demo through the Thomson Reuters legal products site. If a colleague already has access, ask which login screen they use, since access is sometimes bundled directly into Westlaw and sometimes accessed through a separate CoCounsel dashboard depending on your firm's contract.
What you should see: A login prompt for either your existing Westlaw credentials or a separate CoCounsel sign-in, depending on how your firm's account is configured. Troubleshooting: If you are not sure whether your firm already has this add-on, check your monthly Westlaw invoice or ask whoever manages the account, since it is easy for a solo practice to have unused capability sitting in an existing contract.
CoCounsel produces a better outline when you feed it a clear, organized fact pattern rather than a vague description.
What you should see: A short working document, even just a few bullet points, that you can paste directly into the tool.
Look for the drafting or motion assistance feature within your CoCounsel dashboard (the exact label depends on your firm's plan configuration, so look for language like "Draft" or "Motion outline" rather than a specific button name).
Example prompt to test with: "Draft an outline for a motion to compel production of financial records in a breach of contract case in [state], organized by argument with supporting case law for each section."
What you should see: A structured outline with headers for each argument, a sentence or two describing the point of each section, and case citations attached to the relevant sections.
Before you build on any section of the outline, open and read the cases cited there in full.
What you should see: The full case text, ideally with the specific passage that supports your argument easy to locate. Troubleshooting: If a cited case does not actually support the point attributed to it, remove that citation and either find a better one manually or ask CoCounsel to suggest an alternative citation for that specific proposition.
Run each cited case through KeyCite to confirm it is still good law and has not been overruled, reversed, or significantly limited by a later decision.
What you should see: A clean citation status for each case you plan to keep, or a documented decision about how to handle any negative treatment.
Use the verified outline as your skeleton and write the actual persuasive argument yourself, section by section.
What you should see: A completed first draft of the motion with your original argument built on top of a citation-verified foundation.
Motion outline by argument:
Draft an outline for a [motion type] in [state] based on these facts: [facts].
Structure it by argument section with supporting case law for each.
Standard of review lookup:
What is the standard of review for a [motion type] in [state or federal circuit],
and what recent cases have applied that standard?
Counter-argument anticipation:
Given this outline for my motion, what is the strongest counter-argument opposing
counsel is likely to raise, and what case law would support their position?
Checking a case's continued validity:
Has [case name, citation] been overruled, limited, or distinguished by any later
decision in [state or circuit]?