The problem
After a hearing on custody, support or temporary orders, the client wants to know what the judge ordered and what happens next, and the update gets written late in the evening. If a firm's attorneys attend 14 hearings a month and each update takes 25 minutes to write in plain language, that's 350 minutes, about 5.8 hours of attorney time a month.
What the AI does
MyCase Pro includes the 8am IQ Writing Assistant, which MyCase says polishes tone and grammar in emails, notes and case summaries and rephrases dense language into client-ready copy. Straight after the hearing the attorney types short notes in the case: what was ordered, the dates, and what the client must do. 8am IQ turns them into a calm, plain-language message. The attorney checks every date, amount and order against the minute order or the written order, then sends it through the MyCase client portal so it is saved with the case, with a text alert that a message is waiting. 8am IQ only rewords what the attorney wrote; it doesn't interpret the order or predict what comes next.
A worked example
A three-attorney family law firm in Raleigh, North Carolina, already on MyCase Basic, attends about 14 hearings a month. It upgrades the attorneys to Pro and sends each post-hearing update through the portal from notes typed in the courthouse hallway.
Before
25 minutes to write each update from scratch: 5.8 hours a month
After
About 12 minutes to type notes, check the rewrite and send: 2.8 hours a month
What it's worth
About $600£451€537A$866C$848 a month of attorney time, against $150£113€134A$217C$212 to upgrade three seats from Basic to Pro. Saving 13 minutes on each of 14 hearings is 182 minutes, about 3 hours, if attorney time is worth $200£150€179A$289C$283 an hour. Pro is $100£75€89A$144C$141 per user a month billed annually ($50£38€45A$72C$71 more than Basic) or $120£90€107A$173C$170 monthly, so $360£271€322A$520C$509 for three new users on monthly billing.
How to set it up
- Write a standing style for updates: plain language, calm, what was ordered, dates and the client's next steps, with no predictions.
- Type short notes in the case right after the hearing, while the order is fresh.
- Use 8am IQ to rewrite the notes, then check every date, amount and instruction against the minute order or signed order.
- Send the update through the client portal, and complete MyCase's one-time text registration (no extra charge, MyCase says) before using text alerts.
- Enter any new court date or deadline in the MyCase calendar first, with an attorney's check, before telling the client.
What goes wrong
- A rewrite can soften or blur an order ("should" where the order says "shall"). The attorney reads the final text against the order every time, as ABA Formal Opinion 512 expects.
- Clients in high-conflict cases sometimes forward updates to the other parent or post them. Write as if the judge may read it.
- 8am IQ is on Pro and Advanced, not Basic, and MyCase is priced per active user.
- Texts can be seen by anyone with the client's phone, including a child or new partner. Keep the details in the portal and send only a short alert by text.