Skip to content
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

General BriefCatch FAQs

You’ll find answers to the most common questions about BriefCatch below. We’ve collected these resources to help you quickly find the information you need. If you don’t see your question answered here, please contact our support team
 for additional help.

Contents

 

What is BriefCatch?

Developed by renowned legal writing expert Ross Guberman, BriefCatch is a legal writing assistant that helps lawyers, judges, and legal professionals improve the strength and clarity of their writing directly within Microsoft Word or Outlook. It provides real-time suggestions, with real world examples, focused on clarity, style, consistency, and precision specifically for legal and professional writing.

Does BriefCatch store or log the content of my documents?

No. BriefCatch does not collect, store, or log any text from your documents or emails. Your content is never saved or accessible at any point during processing. We understand the importance of confidentiality, and our system is designed to ensure that your document or email data remains private and secure at all times.

Does BriefCatch use my documents or data for training purposes?

No. BriefCatch does not use your documents, emails, or any user data to train its algorithms. We do not analyze, retain, or review your content in any way. Your work stays entirely your own, and nothing you write is ever used to improve or update the software.

Does BriefCatch use AI in its processing?

No. BriefCatch uses traditional algorithmic methods to create suggestions based on tens of thousands of writing rules. These suggestions are delivered without the use of AI.

Does BriefCatch provide legal advice?

No. BriefCatch does not offer legal advice. It provides editing suggestions to help improve your writing.

Can BriefCatch be used on other legal and nonlegal documents?

Yes! Although BriefCatch is designed with legal writing in mind, many of its features are useful in other types of documents as well. It can check for things like defined terms used before they are introduced, missing parentheses, spacing issues, common legal typos, and inconsistent wording or acronyms. These tools work well for both legal and nonlegal documents, including contracts, reports, emails, and more.

How does BriefCatch make suggestions?

BriefCatch scans your document using thousands of rules and algorithms to identify areas for improvement. When a match is found, it highlights the relevant text and displays a suggestion in the side panel. The panel may include a recommended change, general editing advice, or examples for clarity. You can then choose to accept, ignore, or navigate through each suggestion and review it later.

Can I use Track Changes with BriefCatch?

Yes! To track changes, first turn on Track Changes in Word by going to the Review tab and selecting Track Changes. Then run BriefCatch as usual. As you accept suggestions, the edits will appear as redlined changes in your document, which you can review later just like any other tracked edits.

How does BriefCatch handle quotations?

It ignores most quotations, so you won’t waste time editing them!

How does the Scores feature work?

The five special scores are designed both to measure and to motivate. Each of the five measures combines global observations (variation in sentence length, for example) with a sophisticated point system based on wording patterns in various categories. 

For a more detailed explanation, see our BriefCatch Scores Guide.

How does the Report feature work?

The Report feature evaluates your writing strengths and areas for improvement, along with overused phrases, using data analysis. By identifying recurring patterns in your writing, it provides insights and suggests modifications that can enhance your document's overall quality.