If you grew up thumbing through the panels of Spy vs. Spy, you know the gag: endless gadgets and elaborate schemes that eventually blow up in everyone’s face. Today’s version of that arms race is AI. At Legalis, we’re always exploring new technologies to serve our clients better. However, we’re less interested in having the flashiest tool and more focused on what produces the most accurate legal intelligence: careful, human analysis.
AI is an important part of our toolkit, but it doesn’t replace analysis. For us, AI’s value lies in collecting and organizing information so our investigators can spend more time doing what machines can’t: making sense of it.
On the collection side, we subscribe to numerous data providers and open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools. These draw from different public records, databases and online sources, then use AI to match names, addresses, phone numbers and other identifiers into usable reports. Instead of manually checking dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of documents, our team can produce an analyst-ready product in days rather than weeks.
However, that data isn’t perfect. AI systems rely on algorithms and human data entry, and both can be wrong. Similar names and Social Security numbers get mixed up. Records are incomplete across states. Clerks make mistakes. Online tools package information neatly, but they don’t guarantee accuracy.
That’s where the most critical part of legal intelligence comes in: human analysis.
Each investigation typically involves multiple reports from multiple providers. Our team collects the raw data, then reviews it closely, cross-checking criminal and financial records, social profiles and more, and flags gaps. We look for patterns over time and ask what those patterns actually mean. If something doesn’t add up, we don’t stop at what AI delivered. We go back to primary sources, such as clerk-of-court sites, localized databases and other old-school, analog tactics that never go out of style. Time saved in the initial collection phase translates into more time for detailed follow-up or fieldwork.
AI helps Legalis gather more information, more quickly. But the judgment and analytical tradecraft required to turn that information into actionable intelligence still belongs in human hands. The goal is not just a polished report but a reliable one, with information that will stand up in court under the toughest scrutiny, so it doesn’t blow up in your face, à la Spy vs. Spy.
Contact us today to discuss how our legal intelligence can strengthen your litigation strategy.