Introducing BriefCatch Next
Meet BriefCatch Next — the most advanced version yet of the trusted legal-writing tool used by top law firms, courts, and government agencies.
BriefCatch Next combines what lawyers love most: expert guidance grounded in real legal craftsmanship with new optional AI-tools that enhance, not replace, your judgment. It’s everything you already trust, now elevated with more insight, customization, and ease of use.
Join the thousands of professionals who are redefining legal writing with BC Next and experience how the right technology can sharpen your voice, strengthen your arguments, and save you hours on every draft.
Clarity. Precision. AI Power.
Built for Lawyers
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BriefCatch Next User Guide
- Open your document in Microsoft Word.
- Select the BriefCatch Next add-in from the top-right corner of the toolbar under the Home tab in the Word Ribbon.
When you open BriefCatch, the add-in automatically displays suggestion cards.
Key Upgrades:
- Modernized Interface: Cleaner and more intuitive design.
- Color-Coordinated Underlines: Suggestions in your document text now appear with underlines corresponding to their category:
- Style
- Clarity
- Proofing
- Citations
- Filter Options: Filter suggestions by category at the top of the panel.
- Expanded Rule Set: Additional grammar and style suggestions.
- New Citation Suggestions: BriefCatch Next now includes automated citation feedback.
To apply a suggestion:
- Open a card and click the suggestion you’d like to apply.
- The change appears directly in your document.
Lightning Bolt Icon
- Located at the top right of the add-in.
- Click to apply all available suggestions at once.
- If a card includes multiple options, the lightning bolt applies the first suggestion.
- The lightning bolt may be toggleable from the user portal in future updates.
Tip: Turn on Track Changes before applying all suggestions to easily review edits.
From left to right, the icons represent:
- Review – Replaces the “Suggestions” icon from BriefCatch Next with an updated design.
- Report – Access an improved report view summarizing your document’s writing performance.
- BriefChat – A new AI-powered conversational assistant based on Ross Guberman’s writing corpus.
- Settings – Manage general and AI-specific settings.
- AI Toggle – Enables or disables AI features (currently applies to Citations and BriefChat only).
You are always in control of AI, which is defaulted to OFF.
AI Components in BriefCatch Next
1) BriefChat
- A conversational Q&A tool powered by AI trained on Ross Guberman’s published writing advice.
- Offers interactive guidance and writing tips directly in Word.
2) Citation Suggestions
- Controlled by the AI Toggle.
- When AI is ON, BriefCatch combines its rule-based citation engine with AI pattern recognition for more refined corrections.
Note: Turning AI ON affects only citation suggestions and BriefChat. It does not impact grammar, style, or other rule-based features.
Overview
CiteCheck is BriefCatch Next’s automated citation correction engine. It reviews legal documents in Microsoft Word and corrects formatting and style issues in citations.
At launch, CiteCheck focuses on:
- Federal and state case citations
- Federal and state statute citations
CiteCheck scans all document areas — including body text, tables, bullet points, and footnotes — to ensure consistent, professional citation formatting.
It does not affect style, grammar, or any other rules or features within the tool.
Below is a side-by-side comparison showing how CiteCheck behaves depending on whether AI is turned off or on.
Without AI (AI OFF)
Coverage:
- Handles full case law citation fixes only.
- Does not handle statute citation corrections.
With AI (AI ON)
Coverage:
- Handles both full case law and full statute citation fixes.
How It Works:
- Applies a large set of predefined logic rules that:
- Fix capitalization, punctuation, and spacing in case citations
- Standardize court and reporter abbreviations (e.g., “U.S. Ct.” → “U.S.”)
- Enforce consistent party-name formatting (removes “The,” redundant designations)
- Correct case names (e.g., In re, ex rel., Co., Inc., Ass’n)
- Fix page number references (pinpoint pages)
How It Works:
- When AI is ON, all citations identified for correction first run through the BriefCatch code base to apply the full set of rule-based logic that handles case law citations.
- After those rule-based corrections are applied, the citations then pass through AI for additional pattern recognition and refinement that:
- Catches inconsistent punctuation or spacing across citations
- Detects missing elements (e.g., reporter volume or page number) based on structure
Behavior:
- Functions like a precise grammar checker—strict, predictable, and rule-based.
- No AI generation; all corrections come from fixed, transparent logic.
- Ideal for users who want full control and verifiable edits.
Behavior:
- AI augments but does not replace the rule-based engine.
- Users can review, accept, or reject every edit.
Frequently Asked Questions
BriefCatch Next introduces a modern interface, faster performance, and two exciting new features:
- CiteCheck, the first AI-enhanced citation correction tool for legal writing.
- BriefChat, a conversational assistant trained on Ross Guberman’s writing corpus.
You’ll also see cleaner suggestion cards, color-coded underlines, new filters, and expanded rule sets for grammar, clarity, and style.
Yes. Admin users can manage AI access from the BriefCatch user portal, allowing firms to enable or disable AI globally.
No. AI is defaulted to OFF.
If your organization has allowed AI, you can turn it on manually using the AI Toggle at the bottom of the add-in panel.
When off, BCNext runs entirely on BriefCatch’s rule-based engine—just like BC3. The AI toggle turns on the two new AI features in the tool: (1) BriefChat and (2) CiteCheck. When off, BriefChat becomes inaccessible and CiteCheck will still operate but just from a rules-engine.
Two features currently use AI:
- BriefChat: A conversational Q&A tool trained on Ross Guberman’s writing corpus.
- CiteCheck: When AI is toggled on, the citation engine uses AI to refine and enhance rule-based citation corrections. When AI is toggled on, the CiteCheck suggestions are provided from a combination of both the rules engine and AI.
All other editing suggestions—style, grammar, clarity—remain rule-based and unaffected by AI.
BriefCatch follows strict data-protection and confidentiality standards designed for legal professionals.
- No document content is stored or reused.
- No data is used to train AI models.
- AI requests are processed securely through encrypted channels.
- Documents never leave your local Microsoft Word environment unless you choose to enable AI citation review or BriefChat. Even then, only the minimum text necessary for processing that specific request is used and not retained.The only information you can choose to share with AI consists of citations and queries made in BriefChat.
For more information, review our Privacy Policy.
While BC3 focused purely on rule-based editing, BC Next combines that trusted foundation with optional AI tools.
You still get every style, clarity, and precision rule from BC3—plus:
- Citation suggestions
- BriefChat (AI writing coach)
- A redesigned, more intuitive interface
- One-click “Apply All” editing
Your familiar editing experience remains intact, but now you can go further and faster.
No. Your BriefCatch add-in will automatically update at 12:00 EST on November 11, 2025.
Yes. You can log in to BCNext using your current BriefCatch credentials. Your subscription, license, and saved preferences remain active.
Yes. BriefCatch is built specifically for lawyers and courts. The product complies with applicable privacy laws and security standards and is safe for use on confidential client documents. Our internal policy prohibits model training or data retention from user content.
Yes. BriefCatch Next supports enterprise security configurations and can be deployed through Microsoft AppSource or via direct installation We also provide a security and privacy white paper for IT review upon request.
You’ll still enjoy all the editing power of BC3, plus use of CiteChecker from the rules engine, interface improvements, and faster performance—without any AI processing. The AI tools are optional enhancements, not requirements.
BriefChat is not a general AI chatbot. It’s trained exclusively on Ross Guberman’s legal-writing corpus and BriefCatch’s proprietary rule set. That means you get context-specific, reliable writing guidance rooted in real legal expertise.
BCNext works with any Microsoft Word document, but it’s optimized for:
- Legal briefs
- Judicial opinions
- Memoranda
- Motions
- Contracts and transactional documents
It reviews both body text and footnotes, and now—with CiteCheck—also operates in tables, bullet points, and footnotes.
The Lightning Bolt icon, located at the top-right corner of the BCNext add-in, allows you to apply all available suggestions at once with a single click. It’s designed to save time and streamline your editing process.
Yes — when you click the Lightning Bolt, BCNext automatically applies all active suggestions in your document. If a suggestion card contains multiple options, the Lightning Bolt applies the first or default recommendation for that card.
Absolutely. We recommend turning on Track Changes in Microsoft Word before clicking the Lightning Bolt. This way, you can easily review, accept, or reject each edit after the tool applies them.
Yes — simply use Undo (Ctrl+Z or Command+Z) to revert the edits immediately after applying them. You can also manually reject specific edits in Word’s Track Changes view.
No — the Lightning Bolt only applies BriefCatch’s text suggestions. It does not remove or alter your comments, footnotes, or other tracked changes already present in your document.
At launch, the Lightning Bolt feature is always visible, but its behavior is being refined. In future updates, administrators may be able to toggle or restrict Lightning Bolt access via the user portal to align with firm preferences or editing policies.
Use the Lightning Bolt when you’re working on a final pass or a clean-up draft and want to accept a broad set of straightforward improvements quickly. For early drafts or sensitive documents, we recommend applying suggestions individually to maintain full control.
If AI is turned ON, the Lightning Bolt will also apply relevant AI-powered citation corrections and BriefChat-based refinements. If AI is OFF, it applies only rule-based edits — ensuring your workflow remains predictable and secure.
You can also contact help@briefcatch.com or submit a support ticket for enterprise onboarding or technical questions.
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