Flagship review · Drafting

Clearbrief Review (2026): Every Fact, One Click From the Record

Clearbrief lives inside Microsoft Word and ties each factual claim in your brief to the page of the record that supports it, then builds tables of authorities, exhibits, and hyperlinked filings. At $300 a user a month it's priced for litigators who brief from big records.

By The AI Tools For Law team

How we research: Researched from vendor documentation, pricing and contract terms.

  • 5 min read
  • 11 chapters

Last updated Prices and details checked How we reviewEditorial independence

Verdict at a glance

Recommended for

Litigators who write motions, appellate briefs, and trial materials from large factual records.

Bottom line

Solo is $300/user/mo; ask for the multi-year rate Clearbrief offers, cancel before the trial ends if you aren't convinced, and make sure a partner holds the Administrator seat.

A focused tool for litigators whose briefs live or die on record cites. It's expensive for a solo, the trial converts to paid on its own, and fees are non-refundable, so trial it on a real motion and ask about multi-year pricing.

Not for

Transactional lawyers, and budget-conscious solos who brief only occasionally.

Pricing from

Solo $300/user/month (clearbrief.com, vendor claims checked 2026-10-15)

Pros

  • Links factual assertions to supporting record pages inside Word (clearbrief.com)
  • Builds tables of authorities, exhibits, and hyperlinked filings (clearbrief.com)
  • Timelines, summaries, and cross-examination outlines from large document sets (clearbrief.com)
  • You keep ownership of uploaded material; 90 days to retrieve it after cancelling (clearbrief.com/terms)

Cons

  • $300 per user per month on Solo (clearbrief.com)
  • Auto-renews; trial converts to paid automatically (clearbrief.com/terms)
  • Fees not refundable in whole or in part (clearbrief.com/terms)
  • Content returned after cancellation only to the account Administrator (clearbrief.com/terms)

Clearbrief directory listing → · Vendor site ↗

Quick answer

Bottom line: Clearbrief is for litigators who write motions, appeals and trial materials from large factual records. Solo is $300 per user per month, with lower rates offered on multi-year agreements; Enterprise is custom (vendor claims checked October 15, 2026). There's a free trial, but it turns into a paid plan automatically when it ends. The trap: subscriptions auto-renew, fees are not refundable in whole or in part, and after you cancel you have 90 days to retrieve your work, which goes back only to the account Administrator.

What it does: it's a Microsoft Word add-in that links each factual assertion in your brief to the page of the record that supports it, so you (and a judge reading a hyperlinked filing) can check it in one click. It also builds tables of authorities, exhibits, timelines, summaries, and cross-examination outlines.

In this review (14)
  1. At a glance
  2. What does Clearbrief actually do?
  3. How is Clearbrief priced?
  4. What are Clearbrief's terms?
  5. How hard is Clearbrief to set up?
  6. What do users say about Clearbrief?
  7. Pros and cons
  8. How does Clearbrief compare with BriefCatch, CoCounsel, and Lexis+ with Protégé?
  9. Who should use Clearbrief?
  10. FAQ
  11. Is any of this sponsored?
  12. Sources (all accessed 2026-10-15)
  13. Alternatives
  14. How we reviewed

We built this review from Clearbrief's website and terms of service. Prices are vendor claims checked October 15, 2026. Confirm with Clearbrief before you buy.

Disclosure: Clearbrief hasn't paid for this review, and none of the links in it are paid placements. Nothing here is legal advice.

What does Clearbrief actually do?#

Most legal AI tools start with the law. Clearbrief starts with the facts: the depositions, exhibits, and transcripts your argument rests on.

  • Fact citing: highlight a sentence, and Clearbrief searches your record for support and suggests the cite. Clearbrief says its AI also checks whether a cited page actually supports the claim.
  • Big-record work: tables, timelines, and summaries from large document sets, plus investigation reports with hyperlinked citations.
  • Filing prep: tables of authorities, exhibit lists, and hyperlinked filings.
  • Trial support: cross-examination outlines built from the record as testimony comes in.
  • Case citation checks: Clearbrief connects with LexisNexis to flag case citations that may not exist. Confirm with Clearbrief how this works if you don't subscribe to Lexis.

Clearbrief also advertises a LexisNexis discount for its solo and small-firm customers; the terms of that discount aren't published, so confirm with Clearbrief what it actually is.

Clearbrief by the published numbers

How is Clearbrief priced?#

  • Solo: $300 per user per month. Clearbrief invites solos to contact it about multi-year agreements for lower pricing.
  • Enterprise Unlimited: custom pricing, with volume discounts and one-on-one onboarding.

What this means for you: $300 a month is more than many research subscriptions, so the math has to come from time saved on cite-checking and record work. If you write a big brief or two a month from a heavy record, that can pencil out. If you brief twice a year, it probably doesn't. Multi-year pricing lowers the rate but locks in non-refundable fees, so trial it seriously first.

What are Clearbrief's terms?#

  • Auto-renewal. Monthly plans renew every 30 days, charged in advance; annual plans renew on each anniversary. Billing starts automatically when a free trial ends.
  • No refunds, in whole or in part.
  • Changes. Material changes to the terms take effect 30 days after posting. If you don't accept a fee or term change, your remedy is to cancel.
  • Your content. You keep ownership of what you upload. After cancellation or termination you have 90 days to retrieve it, and it's returned only to the account Administrator (or an authorized user if the Administrator can't be reached).

How hard is Clearbrief to set up?#

Low. Install the add-in from the Microsoft Store, upload your record, and start citing. Enterprise includes one-on-one onboarding. The learning curve is mostly about organizing the record so search finds what you need: consistent exhibit names pay off.

What do users say about Clearbrief?#

Litigators generally describe Clearbrief as useful for finding record support, checking citations, building timelines and reviewing the other side's briefs. The caveats that come up are a learning curve, the need to still verify its output yourself, and cost, which some reviewers find steep for a single-purpose tool. A real brief in the trial is the test that matters.

Pros and cons#

Pros

  • Record cites linked to the source, inside Word.
  • Tables of authorities, exhibits, and hyperlinked filings.
  • Timelines and cross-examination outlines from large records.
  • You own your content, with a 90-day retrieval window.

Cons

  • $300 per user per month on Solo.
  • Auto-renewal, and the trial converts to paid.
  • No refunds.
  • Content returned only to the Administrator.

How does Clearbrief compare with BriefCatch, CoCounsel, and Lexis+ with Protégé?#

BriefCatch is also a Word add-in, but it edits your writing for style and clarity rather than tying facts to the record. CoCounsel and Lexis+ with Protégé are broad AI research and drafting platforms centered on the law. Clearbrief is the specialist for the factual record, and many litigators would pair it with a research tool rather than replace one.

Who should use Clearbrief?#

FAQ#

How much does Clearbrief cost?#

Solo is $300 per user per month; Clearbrief offers lower pricing on multi-year agreements. Enterprise Unlimited is custom (clearbrief.com, checked October 15, 2026).

Does Clearbrief work in Word?#

Yes. It's a Microsoft Word add-in installed from the Microsoft Store.

Can I get a refund?#

No. Clearbrief's terms say fees aren't refundable in whole or in part, and subscriptions auto-renew.

What happens to my work if I cancel?#

You keep ownership of uploaded content and have 90 days to retrieve it; it's returned to the account Administrator.

Is any of this sponsored?#

No. If that changes, the listing will be labeled Sponsored.

Sources (all accessed 2026-10-15)#

AI Tools For Law is not a law firm and doesn't provide legal advice. Using this site doesn't create an attorney-client relationship.

Alternatives to Clearbrief#

How we reviewed

Researched from vendor documentation, pricing pages and user sentiment. Prices and details were last checked on . Sources are cited inline next to each claim and listed in the Sources section above.

How we review · Editorial independence and disclosure · Corrections: hello@aitoolsforlaw.ai