TrialSmith
TrialSmith operates a plaintiff-only legal intelligence platform providing a 772,414+ deposition expert witness database, AI-powered testimony analysis, expert due diligence reports, and a CLE program, exclusively for trial lawyers across the US, Canada, and select international jurisdictions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What TrialSmith does
TrialSmith, Inc. is a private Austin, Texas-based company founded in 1997 that operates a plaintiff-only online legal intelligence platform. Its core product is the Expert Deposition Database - the largest plaintiff-side collection of expert witness transcripts in North America, containing 772,414+ depositions searchable by expert name, case, jurisdiction, and keyword. The platform layers AI Analysis of Testimony (natural-language Q&A with citations to specific transcript pages), on-demand Expert Knowledge Map reports, Daubert Challenge Studies, Medline-PubMed integration, Disciplinary Actions and Case Law databases, Briefs & Motions Library, and a SeminarWeb continuing legal education (CLE) module accredited in 35+ jurisdictions. A separate but integral feature is the List Server system, an email-based collaboration network with 21,829,853 archived discussion messages connecting members of the plaintiff bar.
The business model combines annual/monthly subscriptions, per-transaction content purchases (ala-carte depositions, report orders, and CLE programs priced at $79-$129), and a contribution-credit incentive ($30 credit per newly contributed expert deposition) that drives user-generated content. Membership is gated to qualified plaintiff attorneys; defense counsel, insurance companies, and businesses are explicitly prohibited, which preserves the closed-network trust dynamic. The platform is exclusively sponsored by Counsel Financial, which underwrites all trial lawyer List Servers, and operates in partnership with 68 trial lawyer associations and litigation groups; 90% of proceeds are redistributed back to these associations.
Customer reach spans 12,000 plaintiff law firms across the US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, and Switzerland. Distribution is fully self-serve through the TrialSmith website, with no public API, SDK, or developer surface. The company is privately held, has no disclosed institutional funding, and operates with a small team (1-10 employees), placing it firmly in the small, vertically specialized legal-tech niche.
TrialSmith firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- TrialSmith
- Legal name
- TrialSmith, Inc.
- Website
- https://trialsmith.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- TrialSmith operates a plaintiff-only legal intelligence platform providing a 772,414+ deposition expert witness database, AI-powered testimony analysis, expert due diligence reports, and a CLE program, exclusively for trial lawyers across the US, Canada, and select international jurisdictions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
TrialSmith industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Legal Research Software
- NAICS
- Legal Services (5411)
- SIC
- Services-Legal Services (8111)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAAAB)
Keywords
Where TrialSmith is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
TrialSmith business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Subscription Access: Annual or monthly recurring fees for access to the TrialSmith platform, giving lawyers access to search the database, use list servers, and view deposited content.
- Content Transaction Fees: Per-transaction fees for purchasing specific depositions, expert reports, case law documents, and other TrialSmith Content on an as-needed basis.
- CLE Program Sales: Revenue from live webinars and on-demand CLE programs for trial lawyers, with pricing from $79-129 per program depending on membership status.
- Purchase Credits Program: Users earn purchase credits for contributing new expert depositions, which can be redeemed for transcript purchases. Credits incentivize user-generated content additions to the database.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Unlimited membership for plaintiff lawyers with access to all depositions and database features |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Per-transaction pricing for individual document purchases |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | On-demand CLE programs for trial lawyers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
TrialSmith product offering
Product offeringCore offering
TrialSmith operates a plaintiff-only legal intelligence platform that provides searchable access to a database of 772,414+ expert witness depositions, AI-powered analysis of expert prior testimony, on-demand expert research reports, list server collaboration archives, state and federal case law, and a CLE webinar platform. It serves exclusively plaintiff lawyers across personal injury, wrongful death, and related litigation through annual/monthly subscriptions and per-transaction content fees.
Product overview
TrialSmith is a plaintiff-only legal intelligence platform providing a unified suite of expert witness research, deposition management, and professional education tools exclusively for trial lawyers. The core offering centers on the Expert Deposition Database—the largest collection of expert witness transcripts in North America with 772,414+ depositions—augmented by AI Analysis of Testimony for intelligent questioning of expert prior testimony, Expert Knowledge Map and Daubert Challenge Study reports for expert due diligence, and Medline-PubMed integration for medical literature research. The platform also includes a List Server system for lawyer collaboration with 21.8M+ archived messages, searchable case law and disciplinary action databases, and a Briefs & Motions library. A separate but integrated SeminarWeb CLE platform delivers 90+ live and on-demand continuing legal education programs with multistate accreditation. The platform operates on a credit-sharing model where lawyers earn credits by uploading depositions, which can be redeemed for accessing other lawyers' transcripts.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 54,702 searches conducted per week by members
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use TrialSmith
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
TrialSmith technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
TrialSmith partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- 68 Trial Lawyer AssociationscoreTrialSmith exclusively serves 68 trial lawyer associations and litigation groups. 90% of proceeds support these associations. The platform is designed as a plaintiff-only network where associations contribute depositions and share expert data.
- Trial Lawyer Association PartnerscoreListed as partner organizations including state and specialty trial lawyer associations across the US and Canada that direct members to the platform.
- Litigation Group PartnerscoreSpecialized litigation groups partner with TrialSmith for expert research and deposition sharing within their practice areas.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
TrialSmith competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- LexisNexis: LexisNexis is one of the two dominant legal research platforms, offering case law, statutes, and a wide range of secondary sources. It competes with TrialSmith in serving attorneys' research needs but does not focus on expert witness deposition intelligence or serve the plaintiff bar exclusively.
- Westlaw (Thomson Reuters): Westlaw is the other dominant legal research platform with comprehensive case law and analytics. It serves all legal professionals rather than specializing in expert witness intelligence or restricting access to the plaintiff bar.
- Bloomberg Law: Bloomberg Law combines legal research with business intelligence for attorneys. It serves a broad attorney audience including plaintiff firms but lacks TrialSmith's exclusive plaintiff-only focus and expert witness depth.
- ALM (Law360): ALM owns Law360 and other legal news and information brands serving attorneys broadly. It competes with TrialSmith for attorney mindshare and information consumption but does not focus on expert witness deposition intelligence.
Direct peers
- Casetext (now Thomson Reuters CoCounsel): Casetext built AI-powered legal research tools and was acquired by Thomson Reuters for $650M to become CoCounsel. It overlaps with TrialSmith's AI Analysis of Testimony feature by applying AI to legal corpora for natural language research.
- TASA (Technical Advisory Service for Attorneys): TASA provides expert witness referrals and research for attorneys across both plaintiff and defense practice. It overlaps with TrialSmith's Expert Knowledge Map and Daubert Challenge Study in helping lawyers evaluate and select expert witnesses.
Emerging players
- Fastcase: Fastcase provides legal research as a more affordable alternative to Westlaw and LexisNexis. It serves a similar attorney customer base for case law and analytics but lacks TrialSmith's expert witness deposition focus.
- Harvey: Harvey is an AI legal assistant platform serving law firms with generative AI tools. It overlaps with TrialSmith's AI Analysis of Testimony in applying AI to legal workflows and represents the well-funded competitor threat to TrialSmith's AI roadmap.
- Justia: Justia provides free and premium legal information including case law, legal guides, and attorney directories. It serves a broad attorney and consumer audience and overlaps with TrialSmith's case law and legal research tools.
Regional players
- vLex: vLex is a global legal research platform with strong coverage in international and common law jurisdictions. It competes with TrialSmith in legal intelligence for attorneys, including markets like the UK, Ireland, and Spain where TrialSmith is expanding.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
TrialSmith social profiles
Digital presenceTrialSmith financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
TrialSmith leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
TrialSmith funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
TrialSmith M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about TrialSmith
What does TrialSmith do?
TrialSmith operates a plaintiff-only legal intelligence platform that provides searchable access to a database of 772,414+ expert witness depositions, AI-powered analysis of expert prior testimony, on-demand expert research reports, list server collaboration archives, state and federal case law, and a CLE webinar platform. It serves exclusively plaintiff lawyers across personal injury, wrongful death, and related litigation through annual/monthly subscriptions and per-transaction content fees.
Is TrialSmith a public or private company?
TrialSmith is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was TrialSmith founded?
TrialSmith was founded in 1997. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is TrialSmith based?
TrialSmith is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does TrialSmith make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Subscription Access are the primary driver. The others are content Transaction Fees, CLE Program Sales and purchase Credits Program.
Who are TrialSmith's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are LexisNexis, Westlaw (Thomson Reuters), Bloomberg Law and ALM (Law360). Direct peers are Casetext (now Thomson Reuters CoCounsel) and TASA (Technical Advisory Service for Attorneys). Emerging players are Fastcase, Harvey and Justia. vLex is listed as a regional player.
Does TrialSmith have an API?
No public API is recorded for TrialSmith.
What industry is TrialSmith in?
TrialSmith's product category is Legal Research Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAG, Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services, with a secondary code of BPAHAAAB, Litigation & Dispute Resolution. Its NAICS code is 5411 and its SIC code is 8111.