Nicole Clark, CEO and founding father of Trellis, created the authorized analytics platform to deal with challenges she confronted as a litigator. Drawing from her expertise in enterprise litigation, she started aggregating state trial courtroom information to tailor authorized arguments and enhance case outcomes. Recognizing its potential, she expanded Trellis to democratize entry to authorized insights.
With an unconventional background, together with early school enrollment and levels in journalism and legislation, Clark now shares her experience broadly whereas residing in Los Angeles along with her daughter and her love for vegetation.
Trellis is a authorized analytics platform centered on bettering accessibility to state trial courtroom information and authorized information. By offering instruments to investigate judicial rulings, authorized tendencies, and opposing counsel methods, Trellis helps authorized professionals in making knowledgeable choices. Its mission facilities on enhancing transparency and accessibility throughout the judicial system.
What position does democratizing entry to authorized information play in Trellis’ mission, and why is it so essential?
Democratizing entry to legislation by making state trial courtroom information and authorized information extra accessible is central to our core mission at Trellis. The state courtroom system is definitely the biggest courtroom system on the earth, but traditionally, it has been extremely fragmented and tough to navigate. This lack of transparency has created an uneven taking part in area the place solely these with substantial sources might entry and analyze this significant information successfully.
By making this information searchable and accessible, Trellis brings better transparency to our judicial system which advantages corporations of all sizes, from solo practitioners to massive corporations. By offering entry to state trial courtroom information and insights, we empower attorneys to make extra knowledgeable choices, higher serve their shoppers, and finally contribute to a extra equitable justice system. Our mission goes past accessibility – it’s about remodeling how the authorized career interacts with information to create lasting affect.
Your inspiration for Trellis got here from a late evening spent writing a movement for abstract judgment, the place a previous ruling by the decide turned a game-changer on your case. Are you able to stroll us by way of that second and the way it developed into the thought of constructing a platform to combination state trial courtroom information?
That evening was actually a turning level for me. Whereas drafting a fancy movement for abstract judgment, I struggled as a result of I wasn’t acquainted with the decide assigned to the case. A colleague shared an previous ruling from the identical decide and it was like touchdown an in depth research information for a ultimate examination.
The ruling gave me insights into how the decide thought, enabling me to tailor my arguments accordingly. I gained that movement, and it was a lightbulb second: if one doc might remodel my technique, think about the probabilities with better entry to trial courtroom information.
This expertise planted the seed for Trellis. I began aggregating state trial courtroom information with the assistance of software program builders for my very own observe, focusing initially on tentative rulings from judges in Southern California. The outcomes have been so impactful that I knew this instrument couldn’t stay my private secret weapon.
Trellis was born to carry this similar degree of perception to attorneys in all places, making it straightforward for them to investigate judicial tendencies, craft profitable methods, and save numerous hours of handbook analysis.
Are you able to discuss concerning the early days of creating the Trellis database and the way you recognized essentially the most worthwhile options for attorneys?
The early days have been pushed by my firsthand expertise as a litigator. I understood that attorneys face recurring ache factors, and I knew we wanted to resolve these first. Our preliminary focus was on making trial courtroom information searchable and creating decide analytics to uncover ruling patterns.
From the start, it turned clear that the actual worth lay in taking these foundational options to the following degree. Trellis now allows attorneys to do excess of simply seek for circumstances, we assist with strategic choices all through the lifetime of a case—from researching comparable circumstances and understanding decide tendencies to monitoring newly filed litigation and analyzing opposing counsel’s patterns.
We centered on constructing options that may assist attorneys work extra effectively and make extra knowledgeable choices, at all times holding in thoughts that point is an lawyer’s most beneficial useful resource.
Trellis is a major instance of verticalized AI functions. How does specializing in authorized analytics make Trellis AI completely different from extra generalized AI instruments like ChatGPT?
We not too long ago launched Trellis AI, the one productiveness platform tailor-made for trial courtroom litigation. What units Trellis AI aside is that it is constructed particularly for litigators, by litigators, and is powered by the biggest state trial courtroom database in existence. Not like generalized AI instruments, we’re not simply making use of language fashions to authorized work – we’re combining AI with a whole bunch of tens of millions of precise courtroom motions, briefs, and paperwork that symbolize numerous hours of lawyer work product and judicial choices.
Trellis AI is exclusive as a result of it is constructed upon trial courtroom information—the place 99.7% of circumstances really happen. Whereas different authorized AI merchandise would possibly depend on appellate case legislation or basic authorized information, we’re centered on the courts the place litigators really observe day-to-day. This focus permits us to supply actionable insights primarily based on real-world litigation expertise, not simply theoretical authorized rules. Trellis AI transforms trial courtroom information right into a strategic benefit for attorneys.
Trellis provides instruments like movement drafting, case assessments, and decide analytics. How do these instruments remodel the day-to-day workflows of attorneys?
Our instruments are designed to deal with the actual challenges attorneys face of their day by day observe. For instance, our decide analytics enable attorneys to know a decide’s tendencies —how they’ve dominated on comparable motions, their case period averages, and tendencies in particular observe areas. This helps set real looking consumer expectations and develop efficient methods from day one.
Our AI instruments streamline time-consuming duties like doc assessment, creating timelines, and analyzing arguments. As an alternative of spending hours manually reviewing paperwork or researching comparable circumstances, attorneys can get on the spot and actionable insights that assist them make strategic choices. These instruments don’t substitute lawyer judgment—they improve it by providing higher instruments to train that judgment extra effectively and successfully.
Might you elaborate on the method behind integrating Trellis’ state trial courtroom information into actionable insights for attorneys?
At Trellis we’re centered on making advanced information accessible and actionable. After we combination courtroom information, we’re not simply accumulating it – we’re structuring it in ways in which instantly reply essentially the most urgent questions attorneys face. For instance, an lawyer would possibly wish to perceive a decide’s grant charges on particular forms of motions, or see how typically opposing counsel has dealt with comparable circumstances together with their success charges.
The important thing has been to take care of the context that makes this information worthwhile. We’re not simply exhibiting numbers – we’re offering direct hyperlinks to the underlying circumstances and paperwork, so attorneys can dive deeper when wanted. This mixture of high-level analytics and granular element permits attorneys to maneuver seamlessly between strategic overview and tactical implementation.
With considerations about AI “hallucination” in authorized outputs, how does Trellis preserve accuracy and reliability in its suggestions?
Accuracy is non-negotiable for Trellis AI. Not like generalized AI, which can generate speculative or unreliable outputs, Trellis AI is grounded in verified courtroom information. Our insights are derived from actual courtroom rulings, motions, and filings—eliminating a lot of the guesswork that may result in hallucinations related to different AI fashions.
What units Trellis AI aside is that it was constructed upon precise courtroom information and actual case outcomes. When our system delivers insights or suggestions, they’re primarily based on an evaluation of circumstances, motions, and rulings which have really occurred in state trial courts. Whereas we encourage customers to assessment the output, our method of mixing AI with precise courtroom information helps decrease the danger of hallucination that may happen with generic AI instruments.
To make sure reliability, our staff of attorneys has rigorously examined our fashions with 1000’s of paperwork. Trellis AI goes past offering solutions—it delivers instruments attorneys can belief. Each perception is backed by information that’s verifiable, making Trellis AI not simply highly effective, but additionally reliable and indispensable for authorized professionals.
What have been the most important challenges in transitioning from authorized observe to constructing a know-how firm?
The transition required an entire mindset shift. As a litigator, I used to be skilled to deal with particular person circumstances and particular authorized arguments. Constructing a know-how firm, nonetheless, required pondering on a a lot bigger scale—creating options that might serve 1000’s of attorneys throughout various observe areas and jurisdiction
One of the crucial vital challenges was addressing the fragmented nature of state trial courts. Every jurisdiction operates with its personal distinctive methods, codecs, and processes, making it extremely advanced to create a unified, searchable database. Fixing these technical challenges whereas guaranteeing the platform remained intuitive for attorneys was a fragile balancing act.
We prioritized simplicity with out sacrificing sophistication, constructing highly effective analytics instruments that present deep insights but stay accessible with only a few clicks. This mixture of user-friendly design and superior know-how has been key to empowering attorneys to work smarter and extra effectively.
The place do you see Trellis within the subsequent 5 years, notably as AI continues to advance?
Our imaginative and prescient is to proceed revolutionizing how attorneys work with state trial courtroom information. We’re at present increasing our protection throughout extra jurisdictions whereas creating more and more subtle AI instruments to assist attorneys work extra effectively and successfully. We have now protection for 45 states now, and we’re actively working to broaden our attain.
As AI know-how advances, we’ll be capable of present much more nuanced insights and predictions about case outcomes, whereas sustaining our deal with accuracy and reliability. The long run is not about changing lawyer judgment—it is about augmenting it with higher information and extra subtle analytics. Whether or not it’s serving to a solo practitioner put together for trial or equipping a big agency with data-driven insights, our objective is to make training legislation smarter, fairer, and extra accessible.
What recommendation would you give to authorized professionals who’re contemplating leveraging AI instruments of their observe?
My recommendation is to view AI instruments as enhancers of your experience relatively than replacements for it. Concentrate on options particularly designed for authorized professionals—instruments that ship tangible worth to your day by day workflow. The most effective authorized AI instruments ought to prevent time, streamline duties, and assist extra knowledgeable decision-making with out compromising the standard of your work.
Begin by figuring out ache factors in your observe the place higher information or automation might make a distinction. Whether or not it’s conducting analysis, reviewing paperwork, or creating case methods, select instruments tailor-made to deal with these particular wants. Prioritize instruments that emphasize accuracy and supply transparency about their information sources and methodologies.
Finally, the objective of authorized know-how isn’t to redefine what attorneys do however to assist them do it extra effectively and successfully. Probably the most profitable attorneys might be those that be taught to successfully mix their authorized experience with these new instruments whereas sustaining their skilled judgment and moral obligations.
Thanks for the good interview, readers who want to be taught extra ought to go to Trellis.