Draft Citation-Grounded Research Memos with CoCounsel Legal

CoCounsel Legal is not something you sign up for with a credit card on a website. Visit the Thomson Reuters legal products site and look for the CoCounsel Legal page, then request a demo or ask your existing Westlaw account representative to add it to your subscription.

1. Search for "Thomson Reuters CoCounsel Legal" or navigate to the CoCounsel product page under Thomson Reuters Legal.
2. Fill out the demo request form, or call your Westlaw rep if you already have an account manager.
3. Note that pricing depends on how many seats you need and what your firm already pays for Westlaw access.

What you should see: A confirmation that a Thomson Reuters representative will follow up, usually within a few business days. Troubleshooting: If you cannot find a public pricing page, that is expected. Both Westlaw and Lexis quote AI add-ons individually rather than publishing a flat rate once artificial intelligence is part of the package.

Once you agree to a plan, a Thomson Reuters representative walks you through account setup and grants access under your firm's Westlaw credentials.

1. Confirm which attorneys and staff at your firm need seats.
2. Ask specifically how CoCounsel Legal is accessed: through your existing Westlaw sign-in, a separate app, or a Word add-in. This varies by contract configuration, so confirm it during onboarding rather than guessing.
3. Save the login link they provide.

What you should see: Access to a CoCounsel dashboard or an added CoCounsel option inside your Westlaw account. Troubleshooting: If a colleague at your firm already has CoCounsel access, ask them to walk you through their login screen before your own onboarding call. Interfaces at Thomson Reuters change between contract tiers, so their screen may not match yours exactly.

Log in and look for the research assistant feature (Thomson Reuters may label this differently depending on your plan, so look for language like "Research" or "Ask a legal question"). Type a specific, narrow question rather than a broad topic.

1. Frame the question the way you would ask a knowledgeable associate: state the jurisdiction, the legal issue, and any relevant facts in plain language.
2. Submit the question and wait for the response, which should include a written answer along with linked case citations.

Example prompt to test with: "What is the statute of limitations for breach of contract claims in Ohio, and what are the two or three most recent cases applying it?"

What you should see: A narrative answer with case names, court, and year, each one linked back to the underlying case document in Westlaw. Troubleshooting: If the answer feels generic or misses your jurisdiction, narrow the question further. Broad questions produce broad, less useful answers.

Click through at least the top two or three cited cases and read the actual holding, not just the AI-generated summary sentence.

1. Confirm the case says what CoCounsel claims it says.
2. Check the case's current status (still good law, not overruled or reversed) using KeyCite, which should be available in the same Westlaw environment.

What you should see: The full case text with KeyCite flags showing citation history and whether the case has been overturned. Troubleshooting: If a case shows a negative KeyCite flag, do not cite it without reading exactly how and why later courts treated it differently.

Ask CoCounsel to organize its findings into a memo format, or export the research and build the memo yourself in Word.

1. Request a structured summary: issue, brief answer, and supporting authority.
2. Copy the verified case citations, not the raw AI output, into your memo.
3. Add your own analysis of how the law applies to your client's specific facts. This is the part CoCounsel cannot do for you, because it does not know your client's situation.

What you should see: A memo draft with a clear issue statement, a short answer, and a discussion section citing the cases you personally verified in Step 4.

This step is not optional. Run every case CoCounsel cited through KeyCite or Shepard's one more time immediately before you file anything, even if you checked it earlier in the drafting process.

1. Confirm the case exists in the reporter cited.
2. Confirm the pin cite (the specific page) actually supports the proposition you attributed to it.
3. Confirm no supervening authority has changed the outcome since you first pulled the case.

What you should see: A clean citation check with no red flags, or a documented reason why a flagged case is still being cited (for example, distinguishing a later case on its facts).