The Pulse
Clio Buys Learned Hand to Bring AI Into U.S. Courts
Clio acquired Learned Hand, whose AI workspace helps judges and clerks review filings, research law and prepare draft court documents. The deal expands Clio into the judiciary and brings Learned Hand together with Clio Library and Clio Dock
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
More than one billion legal documents and approximately one billion U.S. court records now sit behind Clio’s new push into the judiciary. The legal software company acquired Learned Hand on September 30, bringing in an AI workspace built for judges and clerks and marking Clio’s first direct expansion into courts.
Learned Hand’s software connects with court case-management systems. It helps judicial teams review matters, work through filings and disputed issues, conduct legal research, and prepare bench memoranda and draft orders suited to each matter’s procedural requirements. Clio says the technology is already being used by courts across the United States, including the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the nation’s largest trial court.
Clio takes its legal tools to the bench
The acquisition extends Clio’s business beyond tools used by law firms and legal departments. The company already offers court calendaring and rules, electronic filing, Clio Docket for court records and filings, and Clio Library for legal research. Learned Hand adds software designed around the work judges and clerks do inside courts rather than adapting a product built for lawyers.
“AI is changing the pace and volume of legal work across the entire system, but that progress only matters if the courts can keep up,” Clio chief executive and founder Jack Newton said. He argued that faster work by lawyers and litigants could shift pressure onto judges and court staff if courts lack the capacity to handle it.
Learned Hand founder and CEO Shlomo Klapper said the company began because judges and clerks needed tools designed for judicial work. “With Clio, we can take everything we’ve learned and built for the judiciary at a scale this opportunity deserves,” he said.
Two large legal databases meet judicial workflows
Clio says its Library contains more than one billion legal documents across more than 110 jurisdictions. Its Docket product draws on approximately one billion U.S. court records and filings. Those are separate collections, and the acquisition announcement does not specify how Clio plans to combine them with Learned Hand’s product or how the software will use those materials in individual court deployments.
The company says the combination is intended to ground judicial tools in both legal authorities and the record before a court. Clio has also staffed its judiciary effort: Pablo Arredondo, a Casetext co-founder, joined as senior vice president for the judiciary in August, and former Michigan Supreme Court chief justice Bridget Mary McCormack is set to join as general manager for the division.
Existing pilots continue, but terms stay undisclosed
Learned Hand will become part of Clio’s judiciary business and provide the foundation for its court products. Clio says it will continue supporting Learned Hand’s current deployments and pilots while investing in the team and technology. The announcement does not disclose the acquisition price or provide a timetable for new products.
The immediate practical question is how the company will introduce its tools across courts with different systems and procedures. For now, Clio has promised continuity for existing deployments; it has not yet detailed how judges will review, correct or supervise AI-assisted research and draft documents in the courtroom.