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Legal, Finance & HR

CoCounsel

Thomson Reuters' legal AI for research, drafting and document review, built on Westlaw.

3.8our rating
PaidWorks with Claude Code

Quick take

  • The legal AI to look at first if your firm already uses Westlaw: answers cite real case law you can click through to.
  • It was Casetext's CoCounsel until Thomson Reuters bought it. The Casetext brand is gone.
  • Pricing is by quote and bundled with Westlaw or Practical Law. Third-party estimates range widely, roughly US$100 to US$600+ per user a month.
  • Strongest for US law. Teams elsewhere get less from the research side.
  • It works in Word, Outlook and Teams, and has an official MCP connection for Claude.

What is CoCounsel?

CoCounsel is the legal AI assistant from Thomson Reuters, the company behind Westlaw and Practical Law. It started life at Casetext, which Thomson Reuters bought in 2023 for US$650 million, and the Casetext name has now gone. You ask a legal question in plain English and it researches, analyses and drafts, citing Westlaw cases and Practical Law guidance with links. It can review thousands of documents against a list of questions, draft briefs, and works inside Word, Outlook and Teams. There is also an official MCP connection so Claude can use it.

Pick CoCounsel if your lawyers already pay for Westlaw and want AI answers grounded in trusted case law with citations they can click. Harvey is the broader platform at big firms and is stronger on bulk diligence workflows. Spellbook is cheaper and simpler for contract drafting in Word. General chat assistants like Claude and ChatGPT are fine for drafting but do not have Westlaw's case law behind them.

The catch is that it is tied to the Thomson Reuters ecosystem. Pricing is by quote and usually bundled with Westlaw, the product tiers are confusing, and it is built mainly for US law. It is less useful in Australia or the UK unless you mostly need document review and drafting.

Who's using it, and who it's for

  • Litigators
  • Law firms
  • In-house legal teams
  • Government legal teams

Law firms and legal teams, mostly in the US, that already use Westlaw or Practical Law.

Key features

  • Research with citations

    Ask a question in plain English and get an answer drawn from Westlaw and Practical Law, with linked citations.

  • Deep research and agent steps

    For bigger questions it makes a plan, works through each step and shows you how it got there.

  • Tabular document review

    Review up to 10,000 documents against up to 100 questions and get the answers in a table.

  • Brief and document drafting

    Drafts briefs, memos and letters, with a Westlaw Brief Builder for litigation.

  • Works where lawyers work

    Add-ins for Word, Outlook and Teams, plus saved matter workspaces.

How we rate it

3.8 / 5

Our rating

From using the tool ourselves. The average of the five scores.

Ease of use
4.0

How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.

Features
4.5

How completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.

Output quality
4.0

How good the results are before you fix them.

Value for money
3.0

What you get for the price, including the free plan.

Speed & reliability
3.5

How fast it is and how often it falls over.

CoCounsel pricing

  • CoCounsel Essentials

    Custom

    Firms adding AI to an existing Westlaw or Practical Law plan.

    • Bundled with Westlaw or Practical Law
    • Core research, drafting and document Q&A
  • Our pick

    CoCounsel Legal

    Custom

    Teams that want the full research, review and drafting set.

    • Deep research and agent workflows
    • Bulk tabular document review
    • Word, Outlook and Teams add-ins

Which plan should you pick?

Talk to your Thomson Reuters account manager, since price depends on your Westlaw contract. Ask for a trial on real matters and compare the full CoCounsel Legal tier with the cheaper Essentials bundle before you choose.

Prices in USD unless noted, checked 22 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.

Best use cases

Ways CoCounsel can slot into your week.

  1. 1

    Research a legal question

    Ask about a point of law and get a sourced answer with Westlaw cases to read, then confirm the key authorities yourself.

  2. 2

    Review a discovery set

    Run thousands of documents against a list of questions and get a table of answers with links to each source.

  3. 3

    Summarise depositions and contracts

    Turn long transcripts or agreements into short summaries before a meeting or hearing.

  4. 4

    Draft a brief

    Build a first draft of a litigation brief, with citations to check and edit.

How it fits your tech stack

It fits best where Westlaw and Practical Law are already the research tools. It plugs into Word, Outlook and Teams, and Claude users can connect to it through its MCP server.

Connects to

  • Westlaw
  • Practical Law
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Claude

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Research answers grounded in Westlaw with clickable citations
  • Handles large document reviews in a table
  • Works inside Word, Outlook and Teams
  • Backed by a long-standing legal publisher
  • Official MCP connection for Claude

Cons

  • No public pricing, and costs vary a lot depending on your Westlaw contract
  • Product names and tiers are confusing
  • Built mainly for US law
  • Like every legal AI, its answers and citations still need checking

CoCounsel alternatives

The closest alternatives to CoCounsel in the library, best rated first.

Why it made the list

It puts AI on top of Westlaw's case law, which makes its research answers easier to trust and check than a general chatbot's.

CoCounsel FAQ

How much does CoCounsel cost?

Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. Prices checked 22 October 2026 against CoCounsel's pricing page.

Is CoCounsel free?

No. Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.

What is CoCounsel best for?

CoCounsel is best for legal research with linked case citations, drafting briefs and memos and reviewing large document sets against set questions. Law firms and legal teams, mostly in the US, that already use Westlaw or Practical Law.

What are the best CoCounsel alternatives?

The closest alternatives are DataSnipper, Paradox, Spellbook and Booke AI. DataSnipper is best for vouching and tick-and-tie in Excel.

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