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Cite Checking

Cite checking software that opens each source at the cited page, compares each quote word for word, and puts a note in the margin beside each citation in the brief.

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See each check, from first cite to signature ↓
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The problem

A paralegal and an associate prove each cite before the brief goes out

They pull each citation out of the draft, open each source in another window and hold the quoted words up against the opinion. Short forms and id. lose track of their source along the way. The table of authorities is typed last, when the deadline is a few hours off.

Under that clock the check runs unevenly: the main cases get their history read and the rest get a glance. The errors that bring sanctions are the hardest to see by eye. A plausible case name at a real reporter volume, a quote with one word changed, language lifted from a dissent. When one gets through, the partner who signed is the one named in the order.

Built forLitigation associatesLitigation paralegalsSigning partnersPractice risk counsel

The Problem Today

A case that does not exist looks just like one that does, until the judge reads the brief.

361
decisions so far in 2026 on lawyers filing fabricated citations published
$145,000
in sanctions for fabricated citations, first quarter of 2026 published

Checked cite by cite today

  • Citations
  • Quotes
  • Pin cites
  • History
  • Checked at the deadlineQuotes skimmed and pin cites trusted, short on time
  • The partner signs blindNo record of who checked each cite, or against what

The Solution

  1. Each citation foundCases, statutes and record cites, short forms traced to their source
  2. Real case, or notA missing case shows its real page and the nearest real authority
  3. Quotes matched word by wordEach quote beside its source, changed words marked and fixed
  4. Decided, then signedEach fix accepted or rejected with a reason; the partner signs

Built-in controls

  • No case is swapped without a named person
  • A missing case or a misquote blocks filing
  • The brief and the record stay with the firm

What You Get

Firms file briefs the partner can stand behind, with a record of who checked each cite against what.

2 hours
to cite-check a 187-citation brief, down from 10–14 our estimate
  • A rebuilt table of authoritiesPage numbers taken from the citations themselves
  • Checked in minutesThe whole brief, each source opened at the cited page
  • Standing orders answeredThe certificate a judge’s order on AI requires, drafted
From draft to signature

Cite checking software from the first citation to the signed certificate

Each feature takes one part of the check, from finding the citations through the partner’s signature to the record kept after.

  1. 01Cite-check report

    Every citation on one ledger, colored by its worst check

    How it works

    • Six agents check the draft in 6 min 40 s
    • All 187 citations, each one cell, stacked over its page of the brief
    • Findings counted by type: 1 case not found, 6 misquotes, 11 wrong pins
    • 127 citations pass all five checks and need nothing more

    Litigation paralegalSees within minutes where the 60 findings sit, with no cite left to work through in a second window.

  2. 02Brief with margin notes

    The brief as paper, a margin note beside each citation

    How it works

    • Each citation underlined in the color of its worst check
    • A note per cite with five lights: exists, quote, pin, treatment, form
    • A strip of all 34 pages shows how many notes are open on each
    • One button jumps to the next note that needs the associate

    AssociateFixes each cite on the page where it sits, with the finding and the source passage beside it, not in a list of red flags.

  3. 03No such case at this cite

    A fake case shown beside what its reporter page really holds

    How it works

    • Each authority opened at its volume and page: 39 opened, 38 found
    • Page 1104 of volume 812 sits inside a crop-insurance appeal
    • A search shows the quoted sentence appears in no opinion
    • The nearest real authority is offered at a 94% match, followed 141 times

    AssociateReplaces a case that came into the draft from a research memo with no source, picks a real authority for the same proposition, and puts his own name on the swap.

  4. 04Quotes, word by word

    Quotations laid beside their sources with each changed word marked

    How it works

    • 48 quotations compared with the opinion or transcript: 42 match, 6 differ
    • A swapped word caught, such as must where the opinion says may
    • Dissent language and alterations left without brackets flagged too
    • One click puts the source’s words back in all six

    AssociateCatches a quote with one word changed, the error hardest to see by eye, without reopening five opinions and a deposition transcript.

  5. 05Negative treatment

    Subsequent history read against the point each case is cited for

    How it works

    • The history and citing references of 31 cases read
    • One case reversed on the very point the brief cites, at ¶ 31
    • Another questioned on reliance while the brief cites it for notice
    • Options: replace and rewrite the sentence, remove it, or keep it with a note

    AssociateTells a case that is bad law for this brief from one questioned on some other point, so the good case stays and the reversed one goes.

  6. 06Reject with a reason

    Each fix accepted or rejected, the reason written into the report

    How it works

    • Each finding ends accepted, rejected with a reason, or kept with a note
    • Suggested reasons offered for the type of fix, or the associate writes one
    • Pins and signals accepted together from a ticked list
    • Of 60 findings, 58 accepted, 1 rejected and 1 kept with a note

    AssociateTurns down a proposed pin when the page is cited for the standard and the quoted line sits elsewhere, and leaves the partner the reason in writing.

  7. 07Table of authorities

    A table of authorities rebuilt from the citations in the text

    How it works

    • The hand-built table set beside one rebuilt from the citations
    • Each difference marked: remove, add, replace, missing or pages differ
    • The case that does not exist drops out and its replacement comes in
    • Inserted as 31 cases, 6 statutes and rules and 2 other authorities

    Litigation paralegalSpares the hours of typing the table at the deadline, and stops it listing a case the brief no longer cites or missing one it added.

  8. 08Ready to file

    Filing gates, then a certificate of citation review the partner signs

    How it works

    • 7 gates from the firm’s filing policy: no missing case, each quote matched, each finding decided
    • The certificate states what a judge’s standing order on generative AI asks for
    • Only a partner who decided no findings may sign
    • Signed 48 minutes before the deadline, tied by a code to that exact version

    Signing partnerSigns knowing what was checked, against which source and by whom, rather than certifying cites with no record behind them.

  9. 09Who checked and signed

    A locked trail of who checked each cite and decided each fix

    How it works

    • Agent steps and decisions listed in order, and no entry can be edited
    • Each version of the brief listed with its own version code
    • Blocked attempts logged, such as a partner trying to accept a fix
    • Kept with the matter file for 7 years after it closes

    Practice risk counselAnswers a court or a client asking who checked a cite, and against what, from one record that nobody on the team can change.

Sixty findings on one opposition brief, and whose call each kind is

What the agents found in the 34-page draft, and who decides each kind of finding.

FindingCountDecided by
Passes all five checks127Nothing to decide
Case does not exist1Associate
Misquote6Associate
Wrong pin cite11Associate
Negative treatment2Associate
Signal, which changes meaning6Associate
Bluebook form, other than signals34Litigation paralegal
More of the check

Record pins, a swapped case and the report once all 60 are decided

What the paralegal, the associate and risk counsel open around the margin notes.

A deposition pin on the wrong pageCited at 112:4–9, where the witness describes his employment. The admission is at 118:10–15, and the note quotes both.
Page 14 after the swapThe note turns green and names who swapped the case, and the sentence now quotes the real one at its pin.
One replaced, one kept with a noteThe reversed case now cites the higher court at ¶ 34. The questioned one stays, with a note that only reliance was questioned.
Sixty findings, all decided58 accepted, 1 rejected with a reason and 1 kept with a note, each showing who decided it and when.
The report the partner signs againstThe same ledger once each finding is decided, ready to export as a PDF to the matter file.
What stops a filingRisk counsel owns the rules. A missing case, a changed quote, treatment on the point cited or an undecided finding blocks filing.

Errors that read right at a glance: a dissent, a reversal, a pin, a signal

Findings on the same brief that a tired reader passes over.

Right words, wrong opinion

A quoted line matches word for word, but it comes from the dissent, which begins at page 527. The cite gains the dissenting judge’s parenthetical.

Reversed on the point cited

An appellate decision the brief leans on was reversed at ¶ 31 on that very point, and 19 citing references follow the reversal. The sentence now cites the higher court.

A case cited with no pin

The brief describes a holding and cites the case at its first page alone. The note finds the holding at 751 and proposes the pin.

A signal that flips the support

A case cited for the contrary view sits under a plain see. The note proposes but see, and the associate decides it, since a signal changes what the authority supports.

Who checks what

Six agents check each cite five ways; only an associate swaps a case

What each agent checks, and where a person takes over from it.

Citation finder

Finds each citation, from cases to record cites, and resolves id. and short forms to their full cite.

  • Never changes the brief’s text
Existence checker

Opens each authority at its reporter, volume and page, and shows what that page holds when the case is not there.

  • Never inserts a substitute itself
  • Never counts a case as real without the opinion text in hand
Quote matcher

Compares each quotation word for word with its opinion or transcript, and checks that the pin lands on the passage.

  • Proposes only the source’s words
Treatment checker

Reads subsequent history and citing references, and says whether negative treatment touches the point the brief cites.

  • Never calls a case good law when its history is incomplete
Record checker

Checks deposition page and line, exhibit pages and declaration paragraphs against the filed record.

  • Never cites anything outside the record
Form checker

Checks form against the Bluebook, the court’s local rules and the firm’s house style.

  • Never changes substance
  • Sends signals to the associate

Cite checking software: questions from the people who sign

What is cite checking software?

Cite checking software proves that each citation in a brief is real and says what the brief says it says. This one opens each source at the cited page, compares quotes and pin cites, reads subsequent history, checks form and notes each cite in the margin.

How can I tell if a case citation is real?

The existence checker opens the authority at its reporter, volume and page and confirms the name, court and year. When the case is not there, the note shows what that page holds and suggests the nearest real authority for the same proposition.

Does it catch AI hallucinated citations?

Yes. Fake case citations and quotes that appear in no opinion are findings that block filing until the associate decides them. The note also says where the citation entered the draft, such as a version built from a research memo that gives no source.

Who decides each fix?

An associate accepts or rejects each substantive fix, and a rejection needs a reason. Form fixes are cleared by the paralegal, except signals, which change meaning. The partner who signs the certificate may not accept fixes in that brief, and risk counsel owns the rules.

Does it cover a judge’s standing order on generative AI?

Yes. Where a judge requires one, the certificate of citation review states that a person verified each citation in any passage drafted with generative AI. The partner signs it once the filing gates pass.

Are our drafts used to train models?

No. The brief, the record and the report stay with the firm, and nothing from them trains a model. Each version of the brief carries its own code, and the report and its trail are kept with the matter file.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Other solutions for litigators who sign what they file

All 8 solutions →
Deposition Summary

A day of paralegal summarising done in minutes, every line cited.

1-min filmCase Chronology

A fact chronology in a day, not weeks, each entry linked to its source.

1-min filmDiscovery Response Drafting

First-draft discovery responses in minutes, not a day per set, with every objection checked against the judge who will rule on it.

1-min film

Which cites in your last brief
would have stopped the filing?

Send us an opposition or a motion your team has filed, and we’ll go through its margin notes, quote comparisons and certificate with you.

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