It leverages large language model-based AI to give insights into judges' decision-making
Legaltech startup Bench IQ has launched an AI tool offering insights into judge rulings following the successful closure of a US$ 2.1M pre-seed funding round.
The project, spearheaded by legal technology entrepreneur Jimoh Ovbiagele and former Kirkland & Ellis partner Jeffrey Gettleman, has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to transform how lawyers approach courtroom strategies by analyzing judges' thought processes.
The company successfully secured US$ 2.1 million in pre-seed funding. Bench IQ drew support from venture capital firms Maple and Haystack and contributions from law firms such as Cooley, Fenwick & West, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati through their affiliated investment vehicles.
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In January, the founders launched a beta of the product, which focuses on US commercial bankruptcy law. Bench IQ claimed it currently counts 12 of the top 100 US law firms as its clients. Bench IQ's platform leverages large language model-based AI to provide comprehensive insights into judges' decision-making patterns, covering the entirety of their rulings beyond just written opinions.
Jimoh Ovbiagele, Bench IQ CEO, highlighted the confidentiality surrounding the technology's specifics and dataset due to pending patents but emphasized the potential of Bench IQ's tool to offer "explanatory" insights into judges' legal reasoning, setting it apart from other statistics-focused research services.
US judges publish written opinions for about three percent of all rulings, according to Ovbiagele. Law firms use these opinions to help build their cases and better understand legal precedents and how a particular judge thinks and interprets previous cases.
Ovbiagele said the company will not need to raise for a while and that he’s chasing expansion down south and using the funds to build the company’s engineering, sales and marketing teams. Although specific pricing details remain undisclosed, Ovbiagele mentioned plans for both on-demand pricing and annual subscriptions, with costs varying according to firm size and billing rates.
