As generative artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the legal landscape, Thomson Reuters offers technologies that cater to law firms and in-house legal teams. Understanding the distinctions between these tools is important for law firms seeking AI tools to enhance their practice and productivity. This article explains the core differences between Thomson Reuters’ (Westlaw) legal AI tools, Precision and CoCounsel, which Westlaw has packaged together as a subscription service.
Westlaw Precision
Traditional methods of legal research on the Westlaw platform included using terms and connectors or natural language queries to search for relevant legal authority. Using Westlaw Precision, with AI-assisted research, a user prompts the tool with a legal research question. Westlaw Precision responds with a textual summary providing references to the primary sources it used to ground its response. Westlaw Precision can also generate a multi-jurisdictional survey for lawyers who need to compare and contrast statutes and regulations from different jurisdictions. Finally, the tool offers what it calls a Claims Explorer. Using this feature, a user can find all relevant causes of action, counterclaims, and defenses to claims based upon a given set of facts to assist lawyers in the drafting of pleadings, counterclaims, and affirmative defenses. Examples of use cases for Westlaw Precision:
- What is the legal standard and primary case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to establish qualified immunity in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 case asserting a violation of an individual’s constitutional law to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures? The tool will provide a narrative summary explaining the application of qualified immunity and the primary controlling authority in the Fourth Circuit on the issue.
- Compare and contrast the statutory rights of landlords in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
- A products liability lawyer wants to sue for a defective car airbag. After inputting the facts of the case along with the injuries sustained, the tool will identify potential claims such as product liability for defective design, manufacturing defect claims, failure to warn claims, breach of warranties (express and implied), and negligence against the manufacturer.
CoCounsel
CoCounsel serves a different purpose than Westlaw Precision, focusing on helping lawyers with practical legal tasks and preparing for litigation, although they are compatible and can be used together. CoCounsel was originally developed by Casetext. Westlaw acquired Casetext, launching the same but improved tool that is now called CoCounsel. The tool leverages AI to automate legal tasks, including document search and review, summarizing documents and depositions, preparing case timelines, preparing deposition questions and trial strategies, drafting pleadings and correspondence, analyzing contracts, and identifying key issues in contracts, along with the risks, and relevant provisions. CoCounsel is also ideal for lawyers and in-house legal teams who need to analyze large volumes of discovery materials. Examples of use cases for CoCounsel:
- A lawyer needs a first draft of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in a product liability case. CoCounsel can generate a first draft that includes the appropriate rule and standards, relevant case law, and standard arguments. Next, the lawyer can review the draft for accuracy, refine and tailor it to the unique facts and circumstances in the case at hand.
- A lawyer uploads a 100-page contract software licensing agreement and asks CoCounsel to identify potential risks. CoCounsel will review the document and flag problematic clauses such as indemnification, unlimited liability provisions, automatic renewal terms, etc.
Key Features
The following tables were created using Standard Copilot after prompting the AI tool to generate a table that demonstrates the main features of Westlaw Precision and CoCounsel.
The source cited by Standard Copilot for the above table is legal.thomsonreuters.com
The sources cited by Standard Copilot for the above table are legalitinsider and legal.thomsonreuters.com
Practical Law
Another key feature in Westlaw's AI lineup is its Practical Law tool. A user can ask a question, and the tool will then search a database of over 650+ attorney editors to ground its response, with appropriate citations. Attorneys seeking practical guidance on how to handle a legal issue or strategize will benefit from this tool. An example of a use case for Practical Law:
- A lawyer needs to draft a non-compete agreement for a client whose primary place of business is in California, but whose employee will primarily work in Maryland, but sometimes in California. The Maryland-licensed lawyer needs to ensure the non-compete is enforceable. Practical Law can provide guidance from its extensive database on what terms are typically reasonable vs. unenforceable and can also provide a template to use.
Price Points
Westlaw still offers its traditional legal research platform (a non-AI tool), now called Westlaw Classic. Westlaw Edge is an AI-enhanced legal research platform that is basically Westlaw Classic with AI to assist with the research, plus law summaries. Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel prices vary (just like all Westlaw products), depending on the number of attorneys, jurisdiction, and length of contract. According to Westlaw's website, a subscription for a law firm with one attorney in Maryland to Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel on a one-year contract with access to all states and federal primary law on Westlaw would cost $428.00 per month. Practical Law is not automatically included in a standard Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel subscription. According to Thomson Reuters’ customer service chatbot, it typically requires an additional subscription or upgrade to access its features. A free trial of these tools is available, upon request.
Summary
Westlaw Precision is an AI-powered legal research platform, providing textual summaries of the law with citations (for human validation), templates, and guidance. CoCounsel assists with practical legal tasks such as AI-assisted drafting of documents and policies, summarizing legal documents, and identifying relevant documents. Both tools are designed for lawyers to enhance their practice. Both tools are secure and private, prohibiting a user’s prompts and data from being used to further train AI tools. Westlaw combined these two great tools into one subscription package called Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel offering advanced Ai capabilities, enhancing a lawyer’s or legal team’s efficiency and accuracy in their daily work.
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For further reading, please see the following:
Thomson Reuters Legal - legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/legal
CoCounsel – AI Assistant: www.thomsonreuters.com/en/cocounsel
Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel: legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/westlaw-precision
Practical Law: legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law
The banner image for this article was created by Google’s Gemini AI tool.
Disclaimers:
As AI is evolving on an almost daily basis, the information provided in this article is subject to change. Last updated: August 11, 2025.
The MSBA does not endorse any of the above products or services identified in this article. This article is for informational purposes only.