Trellis
Trellis is a comprehensive state trial court research and analytics platform that provides you with searchable access to millions of judicial rulings, dockets, and strategic legal data.
Westlaw
Westlaw is a comprehensive legal research platform providing AI-powered search, verified case law, and expert secondary sources to help legal professionals build stronger arguments and make faster, more informed decisions.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Trellis | Westlaw |
|---|---|---|
| Website | trellis.law | westlaw.com |
| Pricing Model | Subscription | Subscription |
| Starting Price | $99/month | $105/month |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 14 days free trial | ✓ 7 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2018 | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, USA | Eagan, USA |
Overview
Trellis
Trellis gives you a powerful window into state trial courts, where the vast majority of litigation actually happens. You can search through millions of trial court documents, including past rulings, dockets, and motions, to see how specific judges have handled similar cases in the past. This helps you move beyond guesswork and build your legal strategy on hard data from the specific jurisdictions where you practice.
The platform also provides detailed judicial analytics, allowing you to track a judge's grant rates, timing, and decision history. Whether you are a solo practitioner or part of a large firm, you can use these insights to manage client expectations and prepare more persuasive arguments. By centralizing fragmented county data into one searchable interface, Trellis saves you hours of manual research and helps you uncover winning precedents.
Westlaw
Westlaw is a specialized research platform designed to help you navigate the complexities of legal data with confidence. You can access an exhaustive database of case law, statutes, and regulations, all supported by the exclusive KeyCite feature to ensure your citations are still valid. The platform uses advanced AI to surface the most relevant documents quickly, saving you hours of manual searching through physical archives or fragmented digital records.
Whether you are a solo practitioner or part of a global law firm, you can leverage expert-authored secondary sources and practical tools to draft better briefs. The software solves the problem of information overload by organizing legal precedents into an intuitive hierarchy. You can track specific practice areas, monitor new filings, and use integrated drafting tools to streamline your entire litigation or transactional workflow from a single interface.
Overview
Trellis Features
- Smart Search Search across millions of state trial court dockets and documents simultaneously using keywords, case types, or specific legal issues.
- Judicial Analytics Access detailed profiles of judges to see their ruling history, motion grant rates, and average timing for specific case milestones.
- Ruling Research Find and download actual trial court orders and opinions to see exactly how judges phrased their decisions in previous matters.
- Opposing Counsel Intelligence Research your opponents to understand their litigation history, typical strategies, and how they perform in front of specific judges.
- Alerts and Tracking Set up automated notifications for new filings, specific keywords, or updates on cases you are monitoring to stay ahead of the curve.
- Expert Witness Research Review past testimony and challenges to expert witnesses to better prepare your own experts or discredit the opposition's specialists.
Westlaw Features
- WestSearch Plus. Get instant answers to legal questions with AI-powered search that understands natural language and legal intent.
- KeyCite Verification. Check the status of any case or statute instantly to ensure your legal authority is still good law.
- Practical Law. Access thousands of checklists, standard documents, and practice notes created by expert attorneys to speed up drafting.
- Quick Check. Upload your legal briefs to automatically identify missing precedents and find weaknesses in your opponent's arguments.
- Key Number System. Navigate the world's most organized legal classification system to find every case related to your specific point of law.
- Alerts and Tracking. Set up automated notifications for new court filings or legislative changes so you never miss a critical update.
Pricing Comparison
Trellis Pricing
- Unlimited state court searches
- Access to judicial analytics
- Searchable dockets and rulings
- Email alerts for new cases
- Document downloads
- Single user access
- Everything in Professional, plus:
- Multi-user seat licensing
- Centralized firm billing
- Dedicated account management
- Customized training sessions
- API access options
Westlaw Pricing
- Core legal research
- State or Federal primary law
- KeyCite citation research
- WestSearch AI engine
- Mobile app access
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Expanded secondary sources
- Brief drafting tools
- Advanced litigation analytics
- Multi-jurisdictional access
Pros & Cons
Trellis
Pros
- Access to hard-to-find state trial court documents
- Intuitive search interface similar to modern web tools
- Valuable data on judge behavior and timing
- Saves significant time compared to manual county searches
- Regularly expanding coverage across more states and counties
Cons
- Coverage varies significantly by state and county
- Document download credits can be limited on some plans
- Occasional lag in updating the most recent dockets
Westlaw
Pros
- Unmatched accuracy in case law verification
- Intuitive search that understands complex legal phrasing
- Extensive library of expert secondary sources
- Reliable mobile app for research in court
- Excellent customer support and training resources
Cons
- Higher price point than most competitors
- Complex interface requires initial training time
- Long-term contracts can be difficult to cancel