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CASE STUDY

Putting Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel to work to protect clients Attorney-at-Law Diane Haar of Hawaii Disability Legal Services uses AI-Assisted Research to quickly find answers to her questions, enabling her to do her job faster and more effectively

Hawaii Disability Legal Services

Diane Haar is a Hawaii-based attorney who represents veterans and people with disabilities. She serves those who’ve become injured or sick and need medical insurance and money to survive.

For her, it’s personal. Her sister was born with a disability. Her husband is a retired disabled veteran. She, herself, was gravely injured as a war crimes litigator and rescued by active-duty military. “I’m giving back where I can,” she says. “When these individuals become disabled, I’m helping them find their benefits.”

One person with a vast territory

Haar serves a vast region. While she has two offices based in the Hawaiian Islands, she also frequently travels throughout the Pacific territories and beyond to represent her clients.

She does the majority of this work on her own. She has a small support team, but few are as willing as she is to go the distance for her clients. With time and labor in short supply, Thomson Reuters Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel makes all the difference.

The force multiplier

Haar uses many of the features that come with Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel, including Quick Check and KeyCite Cited With, but the AI-Assisted Research is the game changer for her practice. “It’s like a legal research assistant on steroids,” says Haar.

With AI-Assisted Research, she can ask questions and quickly find the answers, enabling her to do her job faster and more effectively than ever before. It is, in essence, the force multiplier that allows her to take on more cases and get her clients the benefits they’re entitled to.

Driving confidence

Haar started using Westlaw when she was in law school and has, over the years, used competing products. But she ended up returning to Westlaw — and now Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel for its deep expertise — and hasn’t looked back. “I trust Westlaw,” she says, “because Westlaw has always been trustworthy.”

But that’s just one advantage out of many. Haar also cites the appealing interface, the sophisticated search engine, and the robust database of information, especially for her area of law. “I want as much in the database as possible, because that’s how I’m going to win my case,” she adds.

The truth about AI-Assisted Research

While some attorneys hesitate to use AI in the legal field, Haar is determined to embrace it and use it to her advantage. She’s aware of issues, such as hallucinations, but she’s also tech savvy and knows how to use AI effectively. “AI is like another associate,” she says. Haar uses AI-Assisted Research as a starting point but cautions, “You always need to double-check the work. You still have to read the cases.”

Time and cost savings

AI-Assisted Research efficiently provides the answers she’s looking for with links to cases and other useful information that shaves hours off the research experience. “The time savings is massive, and time is money,” Haar admits. Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel puts her in a position where she can take on more cases — and try those cases more effectively. She also has more time for herself, adding, “I spend a lot of time working, but I want free time, too.”

What winning looks like

The real winners are Haar’s clients. She points out that there’s a lot of corruption, to her knowledge, in Veterans Disability law and Social Security Disability law, and too many people are taken advantage of. “When I can take on more cases,” she says, “these are people that aren’t getting ripped off. These are people who have Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel behind them.”

Elevate your legal research

Request a free trial of Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel today to begin experiencing generative AI and more precise researching