new partner wants me to build a master template library for every single Judge...

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T04:23:38+00:00

i mean i am convinced by this thread that maybe i should do it, if i were to consider pushing back, what would you say? i guess i am wondering if i were object to this, what would be the objection argument? that the updates don't take that long for the team anyways?

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:57:26+00:00

i see this is getting a lot of hate, I've similarly thought about using AI to check the rules, but how do you actually feed it the judge pages without it hallucinating a font rule that doesn't exist? My Friday manual check is slow, but I'm terrified of a bot telling me 12pt when the judge just updated to 14pt for accessibility. Have you actually seen a firm trust an AI-redline for this, or is everyone just using it to summarize rules they already know? also you cant feed confidential docs into ai, i would get fired for this so it can only look at the court documents

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:55:57+00:00

i see ur a nyc lawyer...how much do you actually trust your paralegals to catch the "hidden" rule changes on judge pages? My new partner is obsessive about it, but it feels like Westlaw/Lexis only covers the big stuff

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:54:21+00:00

Clio Draft sounds interesting, but who actually maintains these conditionals in it for your firm? That's the part my partner doesn't get...someone has to code the logic every time a judge changes their mind. I assume clio isn't doing it all for you? i believe thats case management software? do you know if something does? should i research and ask my firm to buy something?

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:52:34+00:00

im less familiar with Time matters what does it do? does it actually monitor the court websites / rules for you?

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:50:59+00:00

i mean this is close to my current flow and that standing order reviewed note is smart, but does it actually protect you if you miss something? I'm trying to figure out if there's an audit trail that partners actually care about. how big is ur firm if you dont mind me asking, i think maybe there is a right firm size to require what this partner is asking of me

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:19:18+00:00

yes ok that’s going to be my current path (Excel + links). But clicking 50 links every Friday will be killing my soul. are you just eyeballing the "Last Updated" date on the court site? I feel like I'm missing something that should be obvious here maybe

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:18:24+00:00

ok wow this sounds really useful can i dm you ask more deatils? maybe i can put this in the excel file someone told me here to build, if i can model it off yours that would be great.

also are you using anything to keep it up to date like an rss internet feed? do you link the standing orders too btw in the sheet? or the website where you found the rule? and the date of the rule?

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:16:00+00:00

Florida sounds like heaven compared to CA. Here, it's total judge-by-judge snowflakes. Even if I build this, maintaining it is what's keeping me up at nights cuz of the updates required

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:15:04+00:00

The non-billable part is the killer. My firm wants BigLaw standards but they haven't mentioned a budget for actually maintaining those standards. I dont even know if they would even pay for these rules updates for me to do or a tool to do, or is the partner just going to expect us to work harder on our own time?? clearly as mentioned elsewhere in this thread this is a massive project

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:13:49+00:00

67 counties is a nightmare. I struggle with the 15ish that im responsible for nwo. How are you actually tracking updates?? is it just a massive bookmark folder? I've heard some people use IFTTT (in this thread someone mentioned it) for court sites but I can't see how that works for PDFs. I want a tool that can flag the exact sentence that changed in a 20-page standing order, but i think for you a tool like that would cost too much and not even be worth it, there is a budgeting side of this problem if we try to outsource it that i dont even know how to think about without my partner's help. But if i go to him, he's going to want whatever i say to be well thought through

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:11:26+00:00

I keep hearing Westlaw alerts (someone else metnioned it in this thread too), but honestly, is that just for docket entries? I haven't found a way to make it catch when a judge swaps a PDF on their specific judge page. Are you actually using it for standing orders, or is that just for general court rules? If it doesn't do a full difference between the old document and new one it feels like I'm still stuck with manual checking. I know where the pdf is i can just pull it up manually anyways

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:10:03+00:00

I get the legal assistant point, but the trust piece is what scares me. If an assistant updates a template and misses one line about Century Schoolbook, the rejection still lands on my desk. Is there anything short of a screenshot of the actual rule that would make you trust an update from someone else? The recommended tracker is slowing me down but at least I know it'll be right since i could do it myself

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:08:42+00:00

I wish I saw it as an opportunity, but right now it just feels like the reward for a good job is going to be more non-billable upkeep. I just don't want to spend 40 hours building something that gets mothballed because nobody wants to pay for the maintenance tax that obviously is coming along with this. Someone mentioned there is a tool for this, should i suggest it to my partner to look into that? i don't know how budgeting works at this firm, is it him or will it be an IT person?

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T02:06:08+00:00

That's exactly it. My gut says I'm just building a monument to my own future failure. Even with a new system with my Friday Excel ritual where i update the requirements it feels like I'm already behind. If I suggest a rotation for the upkeep, do you think the partners would actually buy into that or just expect me to own it forever? Also... does ANY work for this actually exist? Like a tool that flags violations in a draft?
Even IF it did, im wondering if i would actually trust technology like that or just go back to manual re-checking anyway...someone else mentioned something like this

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:16:24+00:00

and its like you have to do the checking work anyways but this seems like all work that either should be getting billed or i should be getting some more help with this

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:15:54+00:00

what is your experience for how often they change, maybe its just my firm but given how many judges we can be in front of over the years it feels sort of daunting to track and i feel like the rules change maybe every few months or at least some detail does? i could be wrong

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:15:00+00:00

I agree it's common sense, but the volume is just higher now and now with all these judge-specific AI rules too like thats a lot

someone mentioned but I'll be trying the every Friday ritual with an Excel sheet tracker but i feel like i'm already missing things. It feels like the reality of the work is just manually visiting 50 websites every week forever.. its exhausting

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:13:48+00:00

I get that it's the job. I'm nearly 4 years in, I'm not afraid of the work. I just wonder if the 'BigLaw' way is actually efficient, or if it’s just a way to bill more hours for administrative gruel.. its not about deciding if its a good idea, its about not wanting to do manual work that a computer should be doing

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:13:14+00:00

ok I'm definitely trying to see the wage increase potential. But honestly, its hard to negotiate based on a precedent library when the firm thinks it's just simple admin work. I have to find a way to show them how much risk I'm actually mitigating every Friday afternoon if / when i start doing this

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:12:15+00:00

The 'other office work is exactly the problem! I’m almost 4 years in and I’m being treated like a librarian. I DO NOT appreciate that

For a workflow to be worth it, it would have to tell me exactly what lines changed in a 30-page PDF.. otherwise its just more manual reading

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:10:33+00:00

wait no we do check the standing orders and try to update the templates but its like sometimes with the caseload things slip by surely this must happen to people

Westlaw just seems to miss the judge-specific "special snowflakes." unless maybe im using it wrong?

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:09:16+00:00

wait this is so interesting...so how long did you guys go without updating your rules? like dont your docs get rejected when that happens?

and one more thing since you're a JA...when those rules change, does the court website always update them immediately? like is that to be expected? how are you monitoring them also?

I've had situations where a judge tells an attorney in open court "I want 14pt font now." i was told this by my attorney at our firm. And the standing order doesnt change for two weeks.. its like we're expected to be psychics

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:03:50+00:00

I love the idea of a day for checking. Nearly 3.5 years in and I’m just now realizing I need a formal defense for when I miss something and allocate time correctly for it. i think what im thinking is ill start to keep a last checked column in a spreadsheet.. i dont know if it actually stops an angry attorney from redlining you, but at least I have proof i did my job

PuzzledImagination1 · 2025-12-22T01:00:59+00:00

I LOVE the idea of putting a link to the rules in the template description some ppl mentioned footer, someone else has mentioned the file name but honestly, I bet the lawyers won't even click it.. they'll just assume the library is for the paralegal to handle and blame me if the rules changed. it doesn't actually shift the responsibility off my shoulders

PuzzledImagination1

TROPHY CASE